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CAVLORD
PMINTCDINU.S.A.
Copyright, 1383,
By J. P. Quincy.
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8. J. Parkhili. A Co., Boston, U. 8. A.
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
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http://archive.org/details/figuresofpastfro01quin
INTRODUCTION.
TVTOT long ago I received an application from a
New York editor to furnish a series of papers
upon former men and things. For nearly sixty-four
years it has been my habit to keep journals ; and it
was suggested that extracts from these records, or the
reminiscences they awakened, would be acceptable to
the public. My impulse was promptly to decline
the proposition. My authorship had been limited to
railroad reports, occasional speeches, and pamphlets
upon public measures ; and, weighted with nearly four-
score years, I could not think of entering the lists of
general letters. I was about to succumb to this em-
barrassment when a friend, who had read my journals
with interest, offered me his most valuable aid in
what may be called the literary responsibilities of the
undertaking. My narratives have gained in grace of
expression as they passed beneath the correcting pen
of my obliging critic, and I am confident that a stern
exercise of his right of curtailing reflections and
VI INTRODUCTION.
omitting incidents has been no less for the reader's
advantage. The first paper, as originally published,
contained an explicit avowal of this indebtedness ;
and it is right that I should repeat it still more em-
phatically in allowing the series to be put in a per-
manent form.
It may be mentioned that William 0. McDowell,
the proprietor of " Thoughts and Events," was the only
begetter of these narratives, and that upon the dis-
continuance of his journal they were fortunate enough
to receive the hospitality of the " Independent."
It has been my purpose that the papers should
convey the contemporary impressions made by events
and persons they describe, and that all imperfect
memories or unauthenticated anecdotes should be
distinctly so designated.
The preceding Introduction was written by Mr. Quincy a
few months before his death, and was left with the direction
that it should be prefixed to the collection of these papers
which Messrs. Roberts Brothers had desired to issue. A
few omissions, made for the sake of brevity, have been re-
stored in the present publication. The college class of the
author is given on the titlepage to distinguish him from
others of his family who have borne the same name.
CONTENTS.
PAOl
A Puritan Academy 1
Harvard Sixty Years Ago 16
Commencement Day in 1821 49
Reminiscences of the Second President 58
Visits to John Adams 66
Talks with John Adams 76
The Old President in Public 86
" Eclipse " against the World 96
Lafayette in Boston 101
Lafayette and Colonel Huger 110
How Colonel Huger told the Story 119
Lafayette on Bunker Hill 127
Daniel Webster at Home 138
Lafayette leaves Massachusetts 147
The Duke of Saxe- Weimar and Captain Ryk . . . .157
The Governor at Nantucket 174
A Journey with Judge Story 188
From New York to Washington 199
Visits to John Randolph 209
Randolph in the Senate 219
Commodore Stockton 230
The Supreme Court and the " Marianna Flora " . . 242
• • •
Vlll CONTENTS.
PAGE
Washington Society in 1826 254
The House of Representatives 280
Through Baltimore to Boston 291
The Reverend Clergy 302
Some Pillars of the State 316
Two Notable Women ... - 328
Some Railroad Incidents 338
Jackson in Massachusetts 352
Joseph Smith at Nauvoo 376
FIGURES OF THE PAST.
A PURITAN ACADEMY.
HAVE been asked to furnish for publication
A sketches of events with which I have been con-
nected, and of distinguished men whom I have had
the privilege to know. It has been urged upon me
that the journals I have kept these many years con-
tain matter of historical interest. But these records
were never intended for the printer, and the pic-
tures their pages present to me would appear most
imperfectly to others. My memory of the remoter
past is singularly vivid, and for me these old journals
contain far fuller narratives than any other reader
could find written in them. As they begin with my
second year in college, I must rely on my unaided
recollection for notices of life at Phillips Academy.
Fortunately the impressions of youth are cut so
deeply upon the brain that written memoranda are
unnecessary to revive them.
The Academy at Andover was the first school in-
corporated in New England; the act bearing the
l
2 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
date of October 4, 1780. It was founded by Judge
Phillips, an eminent patriot and honored citizen.
Like most of the best men of his day, he was a
firm believer in the Westminster Catechism ; and he
meant that posterity should believe it too, so far as
the liberal endowments of himself and his family
might conduce to that result. The town of Ando-
ver, when I arrived there, nearly seventy years ago ?
seemed a good way from home. Travelling in those
days was slow and expensive. Postage upon a let-
ter was twenty-five cents for every sheet it con-
tained. Newspapers amounted to very little, and
were not generally read. The remotest settlement
of Kansas or Nebraska knows far more of the
thought and feeling of the great world than Andu-
ver then knew of Boston, which was only twenty
miles off. In the Academy were two classes of
scholars, — those whose expenses were paid by their
parents, and " charity boys," as they were called, who
were supported by certain funds controlled by a soci-
ety for supplying the ministry with pious young can-
didates. These were persons who, having reached
manhood, had determined to enter the sacred profes-
sion. They had served out an apprenticeship at some
trade or in farming, and were generally uncouth in
their manners and behavior. We, who were the real
boys, never liked their sanctimonious demeanor. We
claimed that they were spies, and shrank from them
with all the disgust which their imaginary calling
could not fail to excite. There were, however, two
marked exceptions. One of them was William
A PURITAN ACADEMY. 3
Person. I remember once asking him how he got
his name. He replied with some cynicism, " Why, I
found myself in a tanyard, and nobody could tell who
I was. All that seemed to be certain was that I was
a person, — and so, from lack of any other, I took
that name." This big boy was very popular, and we
were proud of him as the finest writer in the school.
The pet name, Pelly, by which he was universally
known, was a contraction of Pelliparius, a signa-
ture which he always affixed to his compositions,
whether in prose or verse. The word in English
would be written " Tanner," it being compounded of
pellus, a hide, and pario, to finish. The history of this
interesting young man was sad and romantic. He
had been deserted by his parents, who were known
to be persons of social importance, who desired to
avoid the stigma of his illegitimate birth. For the
first years of his life he had been permitted to attend
a private school in Andover, where he showed re-
markable aptitude for study. But in 1801, when he
was eight years old, he was suddenly taken from
school and apprenticed to a tanner in Providence.
A cruel reason was given him for this step. He was
told that he was altogether too promising, and that if
he was allowed to grow up an educated man, he might
take measures which would lead to the discovery of
his birth. For thirteen years he was compelled to
serve in this trade, and deprived of the education he
so ardently desired. At the end of this time, finding
himself his own master, he entered the Academy at
Andover, — supporting himself by manual labor, with
4 FIGUKES OF THB PAST.
some trifling assistance from charitable funds. Per-
son entered Harvard College in 1816, and was imme-
diately distinguished for high scholarship. At one
time he reached the highest rank in his class, — his
close competitor for that honor being William G.
Eeed from South Carolina. But the brilliant scholar
was always struggling with poverty, though constantly
working with brain and hands to provide the means
for study. A man with whom he had business rela-
tions deceived him ; college bills were presented for
which there was no money to pay ; and Person sud-
denly found himself compelled to leave Harvard.
With despairing heart he took up his Livy to prepare
for the last recitation that he could hope to attend ;
but on opening the book a letter dropped from its
leaves. It contained a hundred dollars, — a sum that
was much larger at that time than at present ; and
this had been collected by the efforts of his generous
rival. It may be mentioned that Person ascertained
beyond reasonable doubt the facts of his parentage,
though he was never acknowledged by either father
or mother. But the world had found him out, and a
career of honor and usefulness seemed to be opening
before him. Yet the sad and too familiar sequel to a
youth of privation and effort was not to be avoided ;
the seeds of consumption were suddenly developed,
and Person died before completing his college
course. No man could be more beloved than our
gentle Pelly. His classmates erected a stone to his
memory, which is still to be seen in the Cambridge;
churchyard. It bears a long epitaph in Latin from
A PURITAN ACADEMY. 5
the pen of Eeed. The concluding words, "Plorat
amissum praemature Scientia ; plorat Keligio ; plorat
Amicitia," the old commonplaces of commemora-
tion, simply expressed the feelings of those who were
privileged to know this excellent man.
The other big boy who was popular among us was
the late Eev. Dr. E. M. P. Wells, — a clergyman of
the Episcopal Church, well known in Boston, who has
left a cherished memory as a devoted friend of the
poor. Wells, who was always good whether as man
or boy, did not choose to adopt a certain cant of
piety which was supposed to be acceptable to the
authorities of the school. He was the leader of our
Demosthenian Society, which maintained a vigorous
opposition to the Social Fraternity, an association
which represented the bluest type of New England
orthodoxy. Indeed, Wells was so little of a puritan
that he once took part in a theatrical performance
which, to the great scandal of the saints, was gotten
up among the boys. The fact that the principal of
the school, Mr. Adams, was confined to his room by
a six weeks' fit of sickness, had encouraged us to
attempt this profane exhibition. I remember that
Wells, who personated a king who took advanced
views of the responsibilities of the royal office, was
at much pains to prepare a crown which was worthy
to surmount the head of so exemplary a monarch.
An affair of pasteboard, painted yellow and cut into
high peaks, was no doubt striking, but yet seemed
hardly worthy of the character. Finally, however,
the player-king bethought himself of a certain neck-
FIGURES OF THE PAST.
lace of gold beads such as was much worn at that
period. This was borrowed, taken apart, and a bead
deftly sewed upon every point and angle of this
round and top of sovereignty. Those who remember
the majestic figure of Dr. Wells -in his surplice can
supply the noble presence which filled his royal
robes ; while his crown seemed to us a bit of realism
so perfect that imagination could scarcely add any-
thing to the make-up of the part. It is necessary to
confess that I, in the character of a pestilent Jacobin,
was at the head of a plot looking to the assassina-
tion of this model governor. The fatal instrument I
was to use was no other than a knife with a broken
point, employed by Mr. Adams to cut up his pigs.
This did very well for the first representations; but,
unluckily, it occurred to somebody that the report of
a real pistol, which might be discharged behind the
scenes, would be a more impressive mode of vacating
the throne. Alas, the report of that pistol reached
the ears of the authorities, and our actors were scat-
tered as summarily as Puck scattered the Athenian
mechanics from the scene of their innocent rehearsal.
But if good Dr. Wells then lost his theatrical crown,
it may be safely said that when he closed his useful
life of fourscore years, the better crown of the Chris-
tian hero awaited him.
We had come to Andover to get religion, and the
pursuit of this object was seldom interfered with by
such episodes as the one just related. During the
first years of my stay we were taken to worship in
the church of the town, which was supported by a
A PURITAN ACADEMY. 7
tax laid upon all citizens. What the winter services
were in that old meeting-house no description can
reproduce. The building was in decay, and the win-
dows rattled with every blast. There was no pre-
tence of stove or furnace, and the waters of life, which
were dispensed from the pulpit, froze to solid ice be-
fore they reached us. There were, to be sure, a few
pans of ignited charcoal, which the sexton carried to
certain old ladies of great respectability, and which
were supposed to impart some warmth to their ven-
erable feet. But this luxury was never provided for
the voting sex ; and boys, as a matter of course, re-
ceived their ghostly instruction with the chill on.
We muffled ourselves up in comforters, as if to go a
sleigh ride, and shivered through the long services,
warmed only by such flickering flames of devotion
as they were calculated to kindle. The vivid de-
scriptions of those sultry regions to which the vast
majority of the human race were hastening lost some-
thing of the terror they were meant to excite. If we
could only approach the quarters of the condemned
near enough to get thoroughly warmed through, the
broad road that led to them might gain an additional
attraction. The boys were required to remember the
text, as well as the heads of the discourse, and were
duly examined thereupon the next day. My own
memory was good, — so good, indeed, that some of
those sermons stick there yet. And they were not
difficult to remember either; for, give the preacher
his premises, and let him start his machine of formal
logic, and the conclusions ground themselves out with
8 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
unerring certainty. An exception to this rule was
found in the doctrine of election as not inconsistent
with individual freedom. This was a craggy theme
with which the Andover divines were accustomed
to grapple with great spirit. They certainly showed,
or appeared to show, that we were perfectly free to
choose a destiny which, nevertheless, had been abso-
lutely decreed beforehand ; but the reasoning which
dissolved this formidable paradox was altogether too
subtle for the youthful brain to follow.
A report of an occasional sermon may give some
idea of the gallant style in which the Andover min-
isters faced sin — or what seemed to them sin —
under difficulties. It happened that a proposition
to teach dancing in the town had been made by
some rash professor of that accomplishment. Un-
der this visitation there was clearly but one subject
for the next Sunday's discourse. The good minister
rose in the pulpit fully armed for the encounter ;
but he was not the man to take unfair advantages.
The adversary should be allowed every point which
seemed to make in his favor. In pursuance of
this generous design, a text was given out which
certainly did seem a little awkward in view of the
deductions which must be drawn from it. It was
taken from the Book of Ecclesiastes, and was an-
nounced with unflinching emphasis, " There is a time
to dance." The preacher began by boldly facing the
performance of King David,
""When before the Ark
His grand pas seul excited some remark ! "
A PUKITAN ACADEMY. 9
But, notwithstanding the record, we were assured
that David did not dance. A reference to the original
Hebrew made it plain that " he took no steps." All
he did was to jump up and down in a very innocent
manner, and it was evident that this required no pro-
fessional instruction. And now, having disposed of
the example of the father, the way was clear to take
up the assertion of Solomon that there was a time
to dance. Were this the case, it were pertinent to
consider what that time might be. Could a man find
time to dance before he was converted ? To ask
such a question as that was to answer it. The ter-
rible risks to which the unregenerate were exposed,
and the necessity that was upon them to take sum-
mary measures for their avoidance, clearly left no time
for dancing. And how was it with a man while he
was being converted ? Overwhelmed with the sense
of sin, and diligently seeking the remedy, it was sim-
ply preposterous to imagine that he could find time
for dancing. And how was it with the saints who
had been converted ? Surely such time as they had
must be spent in religious exercises for the conver-
sion of others ; obviously they had no time to dance.
And so the whole of human life had been covered,
and the conclusion was driven home with resistless
force. What time for dancing Solomon might have
had in mind it was unnecessary to inquire, for it was
simply demonstrable that he could not have referred
to any moment of the time allotted to man on this
earth. After this discourse it is needless to say that
no dancing-master showed his face in Andover during
my acquaintance with the town.
10 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
But if it shall happen that I speak freely of forms
which have no longer the spiritual meaning that once
filled them, I must also emphasize the fact that a
stern pressure towards morality was characteristic of
the school. Emulation was abandoned because it
appealed to lower motives than Christians should en-
tertain, and the phrase " unhallowed ambition " was
applied to the pursuit of excellence for any selfish
end. A society for the cultivation of the moral vir-
tues, composed of candidates for the Divinity Depart-
ment and some of the smaller boys, existed in the
school, and a pledge to abstain from intoxicating
liquors was exacted from its members.
During the six years I spent in Andover there
were several revivals of religion. The master be-
lieved in their utility and did everything in his power
to encourage them. We had prayer-meetings before
school, after school, and in recess, and a strong influ-
ence was exerted to make us attend them. I am
tempted to give a little circumstance in this connec-
tion because it shows the absolute sincerity with
which our teachers held their religious views. One
summer's day, after a session of four hours, the mas-
ter dismissed the school in the usual form. jSTo
sooner had he done so than he added, " There will
now be a prayer-meeting: those who wish to lie
down in everlasting burning may go ; the rest will
stay." It is probable that a good many boys wanted
to get out of doors. Two of them only had the au-
dacity to rise and leave the room. One of those
youngsters has since been known as an eminent
A PURITAN ACADEMY. 11
Doctor of Divinity ; the other was he who now relates
the incident. But no sooner was the prayer-meeting
over than Mr. Adams sought me out, asked pardon
for the dreadful alternative he had presented, and
burst into a flood of tears. He said with deep emo-
tion that he feared that I had committed the unpar-
donable sin and that he had been the cause. His
sincerity and faith were most touching ; and his man-
liness in confessing his error and asking pardon from
his pupil makes the record of the occurrence an honor
to his memory.
The War of 1812 put a stop to navigation and
compelled all transfers of property to be made by
wagons. It was said to cost six thousand dollars
to transport a piece of ordnance from New York to
Buffalo. A great number of teams bearing produce
from Vermont and New Hampshire, and smuggled
goods from Canada, passed through Andover. In the
absence of mercantile news, the arrival of these wag-
ons was announced under the head of " Horse-marine
news." One of the humors of the war was an amus-
ing parody upon the " Mariners of England " entitled
the " Wagoners of Freedom," a ditty of which I can
still repeat several verses. These teamsters had, how-
ever, adopted one article of the sailors' faith that was
by no means acceptable to the people of Andover.
They held that " there was no Sunday off soundings,"
and continued their progress on that day greatly to
the scandal of the righteous town. It was plain that
the law must be enforced, and accordingly tithing-
men lay in wait on Sunday at the tavern, and at the
12 FIGUKES OF THE PAST.
corners of the public roads. They succeeded in stop-
ping the heavy teams, but horsemen and light car-
riages slipped through their fingers. But a way was
soon devised to meet this difficulty. A deacon was
joined to the tithing-men the very next Sunday, and
the party were put in command of the toll-gate, about
a mile out of the town on the road leading to Boston.
It was known about the school that a trap had been
set which no Sunday traveller could hope to escape,
and great was the interest in waiting for a victim.
At length a gentleman driving a fine horse passed
along the street, and, all unconscious of his fate, pro-
ceeded towards the toll-gate. The excitement was
now intense, for we expected to see him brought back
by the deacon in ignominious captivity. But the
spectators were disappointed, for this part of the pro-
gramme was not carried out. In what wonderful
way the traveller had managed to elude the deacon
and his guard we could not divine. The return of the
party at sunset brought the explanation, and a dole-
ful tale of depravity passed from mouth to mouth.
It appeared that the gentleman had been duly
stopped at the toll-gate and informed that he could
go no farther. But instead of showing the indigna-
tion which his captors had expected, he expressed
himself as delighted to find that Andover was bent
on enforcing the admirable Sunday laws, and had
selected agents so prompt and capable as to preclude
all chance of their evasion. "But the law, gentle-
men," he went on to say, " as you well know, ex-
cepts those who travel upon errands of necessity or
A PURITAN ACADEMY. 13
mercy ; and I assure you that my mother is lying
dead in Boston." Upon this statement the gate was
reluctantly opened, and the traveller allowed to pro-
ceed. But no sooner was he fairly out of danger
than he reined in his horse and delivered himself
of these heartless words : " Good-by, Deacon ; tell
the busy bodies of Andover that my mother is lying
dead in Boston, — and you may add, if you like,
that she has been lying dead there for ike last
twenty years ! "
It need not be said that this occurrence was im-
proved, as the text of a lecture to the boys on the sin
of prevarication, which is, perhaps, the reason why I
remember it so vividly. A short time after this,
another attempt to enforce the Sunday law was much
talked of in the town. One Sabbath morning, a hack
containing four gentlemen drove through the place
and took the road to Salem. The deacon and a tith-
ing-man, who were again on the alert, stopped the
carriage, and ordered the passengers to return to the
tavern. As there was no toll-gate in the way this time,
the travellers irreverently consigned the ecclesiastical
functionaries to hot quarters, and commanded their
driver to whip up and go on. This greatly exasper-
ated the deacon and his companion, who, considering
that the arrest of such hardened offenders was un-
doubtedly a work of necessity and mercy, hired a
light carriage and gave pursuit. But a stern chase,
as the sailors say, is apt to be a long chase, and the
hack kept on till it reached Salem, where the pur-
suers felt certain of making a capture. And this
14 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
might have been effected had the parties stopped at
any tavern or house, as it was reasonable to suppose
that they would. But, unhappily, on went the hack
till it reached the end of the wharf. Here the pas-
sengers jumped out, sprang into a boat that was in
waiting, and were instantly rowed to a frigate which
was lying in the harbor, — their would-be captors
gazing after them in mute consternation. As it did
not seem quite prudent for an Andover deacon to at-
tempt the arrest of officers on board a man-of-war,
there was nothing to be done but to retrace a tedious
journey, and to submit to such chaff as a heartless
world bestows upon unsuccessful attempts to make it
better.
It was provided that every pupil at the Academy
should be taught to sing, and a special master was
kept to train us in an accomplishment which was
held to be of the first importance in the next world,
if not in this. English literature was presented in
the sober guise of "Vincent's Explanations of the
Westminster Catechism/' and " Mason on Self- Knowl-
edge," and from each of these books we were required
to recite once a week. The sole work of imagination
tolerated by the authorities was the " Pilgrim's Prog-
ress." There was, nevertheless, an awful rumor,
only to be mentioned under one's breath, that Dr.
Porter, professor of rhetoric in the divinity schools,
had upon his shelves the writings of a person called
William Shakespeare, a play-actor, whose literary
productions were far from edifying. I mention this
scandal, not as asserting its truth ; it may be one
A PURITAN ACADEMY. 15
more specimen of those reckless stories boys will get
up about their betters.
But I must pause in my recollections of Andover,
or there will be no end to them. What has been
said has been given from a pupil's point of view.
They are simply the salient points which happen to
stick in a boy's memory. They are not to be mis-
taken for an estimate of the worth of the institution,
or of the work done by the good and honorable men
who conducted it
HAEVAED SIXTY YEAES AGO.
i
I.
N the summer of 1871 a few old men who had
entered Harvard College together in 1817 met
to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of their
graduation. Some of them had met annually in
Cambridge for half a century, and this was to be
their last class-meeting. The memories of early
times were revived, pleasant passages of college life
were recounted, and the hearts of the survivors were
lighted up in gratitude for being permitted to come
together to take a solemn farewell. More than half
of those who were present at that last class-meeting
have since gone. The few that remain are daily
awaiting the summons to follow, and any moment
it may be too late to hear from living lips an account
of life at Harvard sixty years ago.
Two only of my classmates can be fairly said to
have got into history, although one of them, Charles
W. Upham, has written history very acceptably.
Ealph Waldo Emerson and Eobert W. Barnwell, for
widely different reasons, have caused their names to
be known to well-informed Americans. Of Emer-
son, I regret to say, there are few notices in my jour-
nals. Here is the sort of way in which I speak of
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 17
the man who was to make so profound an impression
upon the thought of his time : " I went to the chapel
to hear Emerson's dissertation : a very good one,
but rather too long to give much pleasure to the
hearers." The fault, I suspect, was in the hearers;
and another fact which I have mentioned goes to
confirm this belief. It seems that Emerson accepted
the duty of delivering the poem on Class Day, after
seven others had been asked who positively refused.
So it appears that, in the opinion of this critical class,
the author of the " Wood Notes " and the " Humble
Bee " ranked about eighth in poetical ability. It can
only be because the works of the other seven have
been " heroically unwritten," that a different impres-
sion has come to prevail in the outside world. But if,
according to the measurement of undergraduates,
Emerson's ability as a poet was not conspicuous, it
must also be admitted that, in the judgment of per-
sons old enough to know better, he was not credited
with that mastery of weighty prose which the world
has since accorded him. In our senior year the
higher classes competed for the Boylston prizes for
English composition. Emerson and I sent in our
essays with the rest, and were fortunate enough to
take the two prizes ; but — alas for the infallibility
of academic decisions ! — Emerson received the sec-
ond prize. I was of course much pleased with the
award of this intelligent committee; and should
have been still more gratified had they mentioned
that the man who was to be the most original and
influential writer born in America was my unsuc-
18 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
cessful competitor. But Emerson, incubating over
deeper matter than was dreamt of in the established
philosophy of elegant letters, seems to have given no
sign of the power that was fashioning itself for lead-
ership in a new time. He was quiet, unobtrusive,
and only a fair scholar according to the standard of
the college authorities. And this is really all I have
to say about my most distinguished classmate. Let
us be merciful to the companions of the deer-stealer
of Stratford, that it never occurred to them to take
notes of his early sayings for the benefit of posterity.
The first scholar of the class was Barnwell, of
South Carolina, a noble specimen of the Southerner,
high-spirited, interesting, and a leader of men. It
was said that, when he left college, he told Upham,
who was his most intimate friend among Northerners,
that he would undergo perpetual imprisonment to
free his State from the curse of slavery. I cannot
vouch for the authenticity of this story ; I know only
that it was current at the time. Language scarcely
less strong had been used by Jefferson and other
representative Southern men. But the set of the tide
was the other way, and Barnwell became a leader
in the great rebellion which resulted in emancipation.
He was a Senator of the United States before the
war and of the Confederate States during the whole
of their existence. He takes a firm grasp upon his-
tory as chairman of that extraordinary committee that
came to Washington to agree upon a division of the
property which had once belonged to the United
States ! The letter to the President, which Buchanan
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 19
had the spirit to return, was probably of his draught-
ing. At all events his name leads the others, and
will always stand there to awaken the interest of
future students of our American annals.
One other of my classmates attained distinguished
political office. This was Edward Kent, who was
our Minister to Brazil, and Governor of the State of
Maine. Certainly these are offices which it must
have required a good deal of activity to obtain if
not to hold. Yet in college the future Governor had
so little of the quick movemeDts of the politician,
that he was known as the " President of the Lazy
Club." This was said to be the highest distinction
in an imaginary association whose members were
pledged to spare themselves all unnecessary exertion.
The story ran that Kent was one day seen running
across the college yard, and that a meeting of the
club had been called to consider this outrageous con-
duct on the part of their President, and to learn what
defence he might find to offer. The report continued
that Kent acknowledged the truth of the aocusation,
but drew himself up with an air of offended innocence
and put in this pathetic defence : " Brethren of the
Lazy Club, do not condemn me unheard. I was
standing in perfect quietness on the steps of Hol-
worthy, when some villain came behind me and gave
me a push. That was the way I got started; and
I kept going on and on, because the fact was that 1
was too lazy to stop." The speech was probably as
fictitious as those which the Roman historians were
in the habit of composing for their heroes. Its cur-
20 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
rency as a college story illustrates the general feeling
as to what Governor Kent ought to have said under
the given circumstances.
One day early in November, 1818, I find a dry
twig pasted upon the leaf of my journal and under-
neath this inscription : " Eesistance to tyrants is obe-
dience to God. This twig was my badge; all the
class tore them from the Eebellion Tree, and agreed
to wear them in their bosoms." The rough and
unmannerly proceedings which characterized this
memorable outbreak have long since ceased to be
possible in first-class colleges. Boarding in Commons
was at that time compulsory, and the freshmen and
sophomores were fed in two large halls which were
separated by folding doors. These portals were gener-
ally kept carefully locked and bolted ; but, one Sun-
day evening, they had unhappily been left open.
Taking advantage of this circumstance, some sopho-
more threw a plate into the quarters of the freshmen.
It was promptly returned ; every one started up from
the tables ; and a hot and furious battle commenced.
Cups, saucers, and dishes were used as missiles, and
the total destruction of the crockery belonging to the
college was the result. Of course it was necessary
for the government to take notice of such an outrage
as this ; and it was soon announced that five of my
classmates were suspended and must leave the town.
Two of these victims were from New York, two from
South Carolina, and one from Massachusetts. The
students selected happened to be very popular, and
it seemed to us unjust that they alone should be
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 21
punished for an offence of which so many others were
equally guilty. Accordingly we followed them out
of Cambridge with shouts and cheers, and, on return-
ing, assembled about the Kebellion Tree and awaited
results. After a little time the President's freshman
came upon the scene, and summoned Adams, Otis,
and myself to appear at once in his study. Dr.
Kirkland told us that he was a good friend of our
fathers, and wished to get us out of mischief ; he must
accordingly advise us to leave town for the present,
and should command us at our peril not to return to
the tree. Under the excitement which ruled the hour,
we promptly went back to the rendezvous ; and
Adams, who was appointed our spokesman, addressed
the assembly in a vigorous speech. I happen to re-
member the climax of his remarks : " Gentlemen, we
have been commanded, at our peril, not to return to
the Rebellion Tree : at our peril we do return!" This
morsel of defiance seemed to us to have as fine a ring
as the famous, " Sink or swim, live or die, survive or
perish," which Daniel Webster subsequently attrib-
uted to the grandfather of the speaker. The applause
was immense, and we voted to remain in session all
day, and to absent ourselves from all college exer-
cises. Even the rain which soon began to descend
was powerless to disperse us; for we adjourned in
force to the great porch which then stood in front of
University Hall. The end of it was that there was
a new crop of rustications and suspensions ; and this
burlesque of patriots struggling with tyrants gradu-
ally played itself out, and came to an end. But the
22 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
events of that fervid time impressed themselves so
deeply upon us, that, when " the great rebellion " is
spoken of, my first thought is that the allusion must
be, not to Charles I. and the Puritans, nor yet to
the American colonists and England, but to that
magnificent protest against oppression that was made
at Harvard College sixty-three years ago.
Perhaps the reader will like to see how two men
who afterwards achieved the highest distinction in
letters appeared to a college student before whom
they lectured. Here is what I find recorded of the
eminent historian of Spanish literature. "In the
evening I attended Ticknor's lecture, which was
most beautiful and delightful, and on a subject as
dry as possible. He explained to us on the map
how languages progressed, and what was their origin.
There is something very pleasing in his style and
delivery, and he introduced figures very appropriately.
But independently of this, there is a melody in his
voice truly delightful. When describing the softness
and beauty of the Provencal, it seemed as if he spoke
in that delicious language. When he said of St.
Louis, 'whether he desired his canonization or not,
he certainly was one of the truest patriots, one of
the bravest knights, and one of the noblest gentlemen
who ever lived,' it seemed as though his eulogy was
complete. Those words seemed to express all that
was virtuous, lovely, and honorable, so that no addi-
tion could be made to his character."
A far greater orator than Professor Ticknor — one
to whose matchless eloquence I shall hereafter find
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 23
occasion to refer — is disposed of with all the confi-
dence of a critic in his teens : " Attended Everett's
first lecture, and was not so much pleased as I ex-
pected to be. He is not eloquent or interesting, and
is rather given to egotism ; however, by his prolixity
we gained a miss from Farrar for the fourth time
this term. This was much to the gratification of the
class, who in general hate his. branch though they
like him." Professor Farrar' s unpopular branch
was the mathematics, which then as now was attrac-
tive to only a small minority of the students. There
were no electives in those days, and our tastes were
not consulted in the selection of studies.
II.
Harvard College, at the time of which I am
writing, was very different from the noble university
which at present bears the old name. Some students
entered at twelve years of age, though fifteen was
nearer the average among those whose parents were
well off. We were treated as boys, and not without
reason. The law declared that we must not go to
Boston without permission, or pass a night away from
Cambridge without a special license from the authori-
ties. Moreover, in the early part of 1819, the Presi-
dent, in behalf of the corporation, promulgated a
statute to the effect that a fine of ten dollars would
24 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
be exacted from every student who was caught at
the theatre, while five dollars must be paid by any
one who attended a party in Boston. But it is proba-
ble that the corporation made no attempt to carry
out the system of espionage which their savage edict
seemed to necessitate. We certainly used to go to
the theatre and to parties with some freedom, and
seldom got into difficulty from doing so.
But there were natural impediments to leaving
Cambridge, which would have astonished the pam-
pered young gentlemen who are now complaining
that a horse-car every three minutes does not furnish
suitable communication with the metropolis, and de-
mand an elevated railroad to give them their full
rights in this particular. We knew but a morning
and evening stage. At nine and at two o'clock,
Morse, the stage-driver, drew up in the college
yard, and performed upon a tin horn to notify us
of his arrival. He was a great hero among the stu-
dents, for coachmen have some mysterious charm
about them which wins the regard of young gentle-
men in their teens. Those who went to Boston in
the evening were generally forced to walk. It was
possible, to be sure, to hire a chaise of Jemmy Eeed
(who held the same place that Hobson did in the
Cambridge of Milton), yet his horses were expensive
animals, and he was very particular in satisfying him-
self of the undoubted credit of those to whom he let
them. And it was probably well for us that we were
so often compelled to resort to the primitive means of
locomotion ; for the necessity of regular exercise for
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 25
students was unrecognized at the time, and such as
we obtained was taken very irregularly and with
some end in view. There was a favorite summer
walk to Sweet Auburn, which was then as Nature
made it ; and when the skies were perfectly favorable
we consented to avail ourselves of its attractions.
This beautiful piece of country was afterwards christ-
ened Mount Auburn, and became the first garden-
cemetery in the country.
There were some half-a-dozen houses on the avenue
leading from the colleges to Sweet Auburn ; they had
been built before the Eevolution, and were abandoned
by their tory proprietors. The largest and most con-
spicuous was the fine mansion which had been the
headquarters of Washington, and which has since
gained additional interest as the residence of the poet
Longfellow. It was then occupied by Mrs. Craigie,
the widow of a gentleman very notable in his day.
He had made a large fortune by buying up govern-
ment promises, and by other speculations during the
Eevolution. He kept a princely bachelor's establish-
ment at the old house, and was in the habit of exer-
cising a generous hospitality. A curious story relating
to his marriage was current among his contemporaries,
and there can be now no harm in giving it as I have
heard it from their lips.
A great garden party had been given by Mr.
Craigie, and all the fashion and beauty of Boston
were assembled in his spacious grounds. The day
was perfect, the entertainment was lavish, and the
company were bent on enjoying themselves. Smiles
26 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
and deference met the host upon every side, and new-
comers were constantly arriving to pay that homage
to wealth and sumptuous liberality which from im-
perfect mortals they have always elicited. " Craigie ! "
exclaimed an intimate friend to the host during one
of the pauses of compliment, " what can man desire
that you have not got ? Here are riches, friends, a
scene of enchantment like this, and you the master
of them all ! " " I am the most miserable of men ! "
was the startling reply. " If you doubt it, you shall
know my secret : do you see those two young ladies
just turning down the walk? Well, they are both
engaged, and with one of them I am desperately in
love." There was no time for more, for the crowd
again surged round the host, and the friend was left
to meditate upon the revelation which had been made.
One of the ladies who had been pointed out was a
great beauty of the time, and it so happened that
Mr. Craigie's confidant was on very intimate terms
with her family. It w T as well known that the match
she was about to make did not gratify the ambitious
views of her relations. Now whether Mr. Craigie's
friend betrayed his secret to the father of this young
person cannot certainly be known ; but the current
report was that he did so. At all events, shortly
after the garden party, he broke in upon the Croe-
sus of Cambridge with an exultant air, exclaiming,
" Craigie, I have come to tell you glorious news ;
the coast is clear ; Miss has broken off her en-
gagement ! " u Why, what the deuce is that to me ? "
was the disappointing reply. " Good heavens, man,
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 27
don't you remember telling me that you were des-
perately in love with one of the young ladies you
pointed out at the garden party ? " " To be sure I
did," sighed Mr. Craigie, "but unfortunately I re-
ferred to the other young lady."
Now there is a fallacy of which logicians warn us,
and which they designate as the fallacy of post hoc,
ergo propter hoc. Bearing this in mind, it seems quite
clear that the disclosure that was made respecting
the supposed state of Mr. Craigie's affections had
nothing whatever to do with the dissolution of the
young lady's engagement. It was undoubtedly only
one of those queer coincidences which seem to con-
nect events that have really no connection with one
another. And this is the more probable because
another of these strange freaks of chance is found
in the sequel of the story. For it happened — or
was said to have happened — that " the other young
lady" subsequently found good reason to break off
her engagement, and, as Mrs. Craigie, came to pre-
side over all future garden parties. But this climax
to the tale was perhaps added by some unscrupulous
narrator. Indeed it seems to bear on its face an
improbability which gives evidence of fabrication.
It only shows that gossip was busy with this fine
old mansion long before it was known as the resi-
dence of Mr. Longfellow, and that we, old college
boys, found something to talk about as we strode
past it on our way to Sweet Auburn.
I have said that the decrees of the corporation did
not prevent us from going to the theatre ; but if I
28 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
am to tell the whole truth, I fear it must be acknowl-
edged that they actually added a zest to that forbid-
den enjoyment. For there is a good deal of human
nature in the familiar story of the gentleman who,
being very fond of pork, protested that fate had been
cruel to him in not so arranging matters as to have
caused him to be born a Jew, — "for then," said he,
" I should have had the pleasure of eating pork and
of sinning at the same time." The latter delight,
whatever it may have amounted to, the authorities
of Andover and of Harvard College had taken good
care that we should have in connection with all scenic
representations. There was but one theatre in Bos-
ton, and performances were held three days in the
week. The box office was opened only on the day
of the play, and a battle often occurred in the efforts
of the crowd to reach the window from which tickets
were dispensed. Morse, the stage-driver, was our
champion upon these occasions, and we waited his
return with eagerness to know how the fight had
gone, and what spoils he had brought us from the
box office.
My freshman year was marked by the appearance
of Incledon, in what were then called operas, that is
to say, plays of which two thirds were dialogue and
the rest song. In one of these performances he in-
troduced his famous song, " The Bay of Biscay," and
I well remember the storm of enthusiasm which tes-
tified to the wonderful pathos he threw into the earlier
stanzas, and to the triumphant vigor of its conclusion.
In those days demands for repetition and summons
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 29
before the curtain had not degenerated into the un-
meaning and annoying conventionalities they have
since become. They were seldom given, and when
bestowed carried a real compliment to the performer.
Incledon, appeared in answer to the call ; but, instead
of the impassioned instrument of the superb vocaliza-
tion to which we had listened, he stood before us as
the exhausted old man he really was. " Ladies and
gentlemen," said he, " it is impossible for any man to
repeat that song without intermission." The wearied
tone and fatigued attitude of the veteran were very
touching ; it was a striking change from the pathos
of art to the pathos of nature. Yet it is humiliating
to confess that my vivid remembrance of the circum-
stance is probably in part owing to the advantage
that was taken of it by Bray, the comic actor of the
day. For in the farce which succeeded the main
performance he introduced one of those audacious
" gags " which Shakespeare's good advice to his
clowns, " to speak no more than is set down for
them," has not succeeded in banishing from the
stage. A popular song of the day, called "The Old
Jackdaw and the Young Jackdaw," had been sung
by Bray, who interrupted the applause with which
it was greeted by suddenly assuming the manner of
Incledon, and declaring to the audience with the
utmost gravity that it was beyond the power of
any mortal to repeat the song to which they had
just listened. The peals of laughter which this sally
occasioned ring in my ears yet. The incident serves
to show how the nonsense of a buffoon may linger
30 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
in the memory, after so many of the words of wis-
dom which the Harvard professors uttered are wholly
effaced.
I will conclude my college experiences of the
theatre by copying my impressions of Edmund Keau,
as they are recorded in the journal of my senior year.
" My father came for me and took me to the theatre
to see Kean as Richard Third, and never until then
had I any idea of acting. He is small, ugly, and
voiceless ; and yet his talents covered all defects.
The parts with which I was most pleased were the
courtship of Lady Anne, the tent scene, and the
death. His long pauses have great effect. Some-
times he paused two minutes by the stop-watch ;
but his countenance spoke all the time. A dropped
pin might have been heard all over the house. I
sat in the same box with Miss S , who talked
in a most unprecedented manner, for she asked me
more questions and said more in two minutes than
she ever did before in two days. My hearing Kean
will always be remembered by me to my last day,
and hereafter when other actors fill the station he
now occupies, I shall remark on their inferiority to
him, and may also, with the garrulity of age, describe
the superior beauty of the ladies of the present day
when their granddaughters shall be belles in their
stead. Nothing reminds us of the flight of time so
much as taking the present moment, and anticipating
what will be our emotions when we look back upon
it from a distance."
As there is little to add to this sage proposition, I
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 31
will conclude by mentioning one annoying sequel of
our visits to the city, which readers of the present
day will find it hard to understand. The difficulty
of getting a light with numb fingers, on a cold night,
was a petty misery of life which has long been un-
known. In vain were the flint and steel clashed
together ; too often it happened that no available
spark was the result. The tinder, which we made
from old shirts, would absorb dampness in spite of
all precautions to keep it dry. Sometimes after
shivering for half an hour, during our efforts to kin-
dle it, we were forced to go to bed in the dark in
a condition of great discomfort, and feeling that we
had purchased our amusement at an extravagant
cost.
III.
I make the following extract from my journal of
July 7, 1820 : —
"After breakfast the College Company went to
town accompanied by the full band. We marched
through a great number of the dustiest and dirtiest
streets. At last we arrived at Chestnut Street,
where we partook of a most splendid collation at the
house of General Sumner. We were received in a
room in which there were all kinds of refreshments,
and ladies among other things. This gave it a very
genteel effect, though none were remarkably hand-
32 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
some except Misses S and B . After parad-
ing before the house, we went to the Common, and
then to Mr. Gray's, where we got good drink. From
there we went to State Street, and after performing
a variety of evolutions,, we dined at the Washington
Garden, where toasts, songs, etc., abounded. This be-
ing finished, we returned to Cambridge, where, won-
derful to relate, the President gave us a treat, and we
were dismissed. The day was exceptionally hot, and
we all perspired in glory. I drank an enormous quan-
tity, to say nothing of what I eat, and finished my
exploits with hasty pudding and molasses at the
club."
After this, the next day's entry is not surprising :
" Stayed at home to recruit after our labors."
The Harvard Washington Corps, one of whose
excursions is chronicled above, was composed of
students of the two higher classes, but was officered
exclusively by seniors. It was very popular among
the undergraduates, though by no means approved by
the older friends of the college. To hold a command
in the company was considered a great distinction,
and there was much rivalry among candidates. There
was one condition necessary to promotion : the as-
pirant must have a good leg ; for the uniform required
the officers to appear in tights, and any crural
deficiency was an obstacle which could not be sur-
mounted. And so it came to pass that the first ques-
tion asked concerning any candidate was this, " How
is the man off for a leg ? "
Now it happened that there was exhibited daily
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 33
before the students what may be called an ideal leg,
oy which all others might be measured, and their
shortcomings noted. This shapely limb was the
property of Dr. Popkin, the Greek professor; and
the owner seemed fully conscious of the beauty of
its proportions, for he was in the habit of nursing and
smoothing it, while hearing recitations, to the great
delight of his classes. And so, when inquiries were
made touching the calves of any would-be officer,
there was but this one answer that was really satis-
factory, " Why, sir, his leg is as good as Dr. Pop's ! ' :
The Greek professor, I may say in passing, possessed
an individuality that, if somewhat odd, was clearly
cut and impressive. He was once asked by a lady
who admired a system of theology then much dis-
cussed, whether he was a Hopkinsian. "Not a
bit of it, madam ; I am always a Popkinsian," was
the prompt reply. And it was even so, for never
was man more vigorously himself. His antique sim-
plicity, dry humor, and hatred of all shams were just
the qualities to win the regard of young men ; and it
was more affection than offensive familiarity which
led to the universal abbreviation of his name. It is
said he once turned suddenly upon a stranger whom
he had overheard designating him by the familiar col-
lege title, " What right have you to call me Dr. Pop,
sir? you were never one of my boys at Harvard."
Years after this, I happened to meet the Doctor wear-
ing the baggy pantaloon which reduced all legs to
that democratic equality which Jefferson's manifesto
declares to be the birthright of the people who go
3
34 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
about on them. I could not help remarking that
he, of all men, had reason to lament the departure of
breeches and the accompanying stocking. The old
gentleman seemed much gratified with the allusion,
and declared that the fashion was detestable which
caused Apollo and a Satyr to be equally presentable.
There was a theory current among us college boys
that Dr. Pop was, so to speak, a born bachelor. His
queer habits, we thought, must have dried upon him
in infancy, and to break through their crust was as
far beyond his power as it was averse to his inclina-
tion. I might have held this opinion till the present
day, had it not been for a few words that the Doctor
once let fall at my father's table. The conversation
was running upon the pronunciation of Greek names,
and one of the family asked where the accent should
be placed in fyhigcnia. "Why, in my class-room,"
said Dr. Popkin, " I should certainly say Iphigenia,
but in common talk it is so often called Iphigenta
that I have never attempted to change it." "Then
you have never tried to change a lady's name out-
side your class-room ! " said my father pleasantly. An
expression never seen before darkened the face of
the good gentleman, and there was a soft dewy qual-
ity in his voice as he sighed forth the words, " Sir,
I have never succeeded." It was plain that to this
man, as to so many of his fellow mortals, a hope had
arisen only to be crushed, and that his life had been
thrust aside from a path which once seemed to open.
Another Dr. Pop, whose existence we had never sus-
pected, was for a moment revealed; there was a
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 35
sacredness added to the bachelor professor after that
little speech.
In striking contrast to Dr. Popkin was Professor
Frisbie, a gentleman of whom I find several notices
in my journals. He had lost the use of his eyes for
purposes of study, but the clearness and condensation
of his thought, as well as the exquisite finish of the
language in which it was conveyed, showed that his
mind had not suffered from the deprivation. Mr.
Frisbie had entered the service of the college as
teacher of Latin, but was promoted to the chair of
moral philosophy. He died in the prime of life, soon
after my class graduated. His friend, Professor Nor-
ton, in a touching address made at his funeral, men-
tioned, as a marked trait of his character, that he
could never bear to hear treated with levity those
vices which a lax public opinion has considered
venial. There w T as a passage of Tacitus which he
was in the habit of quoting with expressions of strong
approval. The historian, speaking of the manners of
the Germans, says, " Nemo illic vitia videt, nee corrum-
pere et corrumpi Sseculum vocatur;" or, as the sub-
stance may be rendered in very free English, " Vicious
indulgence is never made the subject of a jest, nor are
the customs of society admitted as palliating a de-
parture from moral rectitude." The doctrine implied
in the quotation is the rule of life for all good men,
and Frisbie probably felt that its importance was too
little realized by the impulsive youths who sur-
rounded him. Let me add that this professor of
moral philosophy was very human in some of his
36 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
tastes. He was very fond of novels, and saw no harm
in them if they were well selected. Where sound
morality was deftly mixed with fiction, he held that
it would tend only to good, — an opinion which seemed
much stranger sixty years ago than it does to-day.
But I did not mean to get among the professors, —
indeed, were these papers put together upon any
literary plan, they would be all lumped together in
some biographical department. But the reader will
have already discovered that no symmetry of arrange-
ment is to be expected in the compositions before
him. They simply follow the drift of conversation,
and are based upon such questions as my journals
suggest to my friend who is turning over their yel-
low leaves. Sometimes it happens that I can throw
no light whatever upon their records. For instance,
I have just been asked to explain this allusion,
"Capital story of the President and Dr. Pop!" What
was that story that was once so enjoyable ? Alas, I
have fumbled through my memory in vain, — I can-
not find a trace of it. No doubt it would light up
this paper, could it only be recovered; but it lies
somewhere in the past, as speechless as the lips of
the old college boys who laughed together over the
fun they found in it. Time silences not only Yorick
the jester, but is apt to cover up with him his gibes
and flashes of merriment, his songs and his good sto-
ries. We can no longer use his keen eyes in looking
after the ludicrous. And yet no generation need de-
spair of finding enough of it to cast a pleasant glow
upon life. The foibles of human nature will always
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 37
furnish abundant matter for wholesome mirth, and
they will always be benefactors who provide it for
their weary brethren who are trudging over the dusty
highway of the world.
I have said that there were grave doubts in the
minds of conservative citizens respecting the pro-
priety of the College Company ; but it is safe to say
that there was no doubt whatever concerning the
College Fire Department. From an outside point
of view it was an unmitigated nuisance, — a circum-
stance which did not render it less dear to the hearts
of the students. Like most vested interests, the col-
lege engine struck its roots into the good old times
of our ancestors, and was very difficult to abolish.
The corporation had long owned a little tub of a
machine, which would be thought scarcely fit to
water a flower-bed at the present day, and the under-
graduates had always enjoyed the privilege of tearing
off with this instrument whenever there was an alarm
of fire. The captain of the engine was appointed by
the President of the college, but as all the minor
offices were filled by the suffrages of the students, the
organization was democratic enough to be interesting.
No sooner did the fire-bell ring than we got into all
sorts of horrible and grotesque garments. Hats in
the last stages of dilapidation and strange ancestral
coats were carefully kept for these occasions. Feel-
ing that we were pretty well disguised, there seemed
nothing to hinder that lawless abandonment to a frolic
which is so delightful to unregenerate man when
youthful blood bubbles in his veins- I cannot re-
38 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
member that we ever rendered the slightest assist-
ance in extinguishing a fire ; indeed, there were so
many good reasons for stopping on the way that we
commonly arrived after it was out. And then, if we
were tired, we had an impudent way of leaving the
tub upon the ground, well knowing that the govern-
ment would send for their property the next day.
Among the memorable fires that were attended
by the college engine, the burning of the Exchange
Coffee-House was the most impressive. This build-
ing was said to be the finest in the Union, and was
certainly the pride and boast of Boston. It had
noble halls, and over two hundred lesser apartments.
It was quite a little town in itself, giving shelter to
brokers, insurance companies, foreign consuls, and
masonic lodges. It had cost about $600,000, which
was then thought to be an immense sum to be put
in bricks and mortar. The light was so great as to
be seen over a large area of country, and far out to
sea; and when, at nine o'clock in the evening, the
dome came crashing down, a shudder ran through
thousands of excited spectators. Strange to say, no
life was lost through all the tumult and confusion
of the night. It was not until the next day that
an accident occurred which called to mind the end
of Clarence in his butt of Malmsey. An immense
caldron of beer lay open among the ruins, and into
this a poor boy managed to fall with consequences
quite as fatal as the wine brought to the royal duke.
On our return from this fire, exhausted with ex-
citement and fatigue, we repaired to the engine-house,
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 39
as was our custom, and were there regaled upon
" black strap," a composition of which the secret, as
I fervently hope, now reposes with the lost arts. Its
principal ingredients were rum and molasses, though
it is probable there were other simples combined
with these conspicuous factors. Of all the detestable
American drinks, upon which the inventive genius
of our countrymen has exercised itself, this "black
strap " was surely the most outrageous. It finally
broke up the engine company, and this was perhaps
the only good thing which ever came of it. For
matters at last reached a crisis ; the government
came to their senses, sold the engine, and broke up
the association. But to take the edge off the cruelty
of this necessary act, it was decided that the com-
pany should be allowed a final meeting. And so we
celebrated the obsequies of the old machine with an
oration and a poem, following up these exercises
with other proceedings of which a detailed account is
unnecessary.
The present students of Harvard have more civil-
ized modes of recreation. I hear of art clubs, and of
societies which take pleasure in essays upon political
economy and scientific research. I find, too, that
some things are allowed which would have been
thought scandalous by the wise men of the past.
What would our college authorities have said about
permitting students to give theatrical exhibitions in
a public hall ? What deductions of degeneracy would
they not have drawn, had they been told that such
a stigma as this would ever be attached to their cher-
40 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ished institution ? Well, every age is apt to arrange
the virtues on a scale of its own, and to be becom-
ingly shocked when they get joggled out of place.
The students of to-day have undoubtedly pleasures
which a moral philosopher would pronounce superior
to the rude sports of their grandfathers. But for
rough, tumultuous fun, for a glorious abandonment
en masse of the irksome restraints of social life, they
are (fortunately, of course) more than sixty years too
late. They know not what it was to run to a fire
with the old Harvard tub.
IV.
Few realize that college life sixty years ago was
just a year longer than it is now. Cambridge was
not deserted during the vacation ; while at present
from July to October everybody is off and all the
rooms are vacant. The students' apartments of my
day were not so attractive that one would wish to
linger in them. I cannot remember a single room
which had carpet, curtain, or any pretence of orna-
ment. In a few of them were hung some very poor
prints, representing the four seasons, 'emblematical
representations of the countries of Europe, and im-
aginative devices of a similar nature. Our light
came from dipped candles, with very broad bases
and gradually narrowing to the top. These required
the constant use of snuffers, — a circumstance which
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 41
hindered application to an extent that in these days
of kerosene and gas can scarcely be appreciated.
Indeed, the dual brain with which mankind are fur-
nished seemed to us to show intelligent design, not
less than the famous illustrations presented by Paley.
One brain was clearly required to do the studying,
while it was the business of the other to watch the
candles and look after the snuffers.
Our fuel was wood, which was furnished by the
college ; it being cut from some lands in Maine which
were among its possessions, and brought to the wharf
in the college sloop, the " Harvard." This arrange-
ment was supposed to cause a great saving, and the
authorities naturally prided themselves upon the
sagacity which made this Eastern property so pro-
ductive. It was not until Dr. Bowditch, the great
mathematician, was given a place in the government
that this arrangement was quietly abandoned. This
eminent gentleman — perhaps from his natural ap-
titude for figures — succeeded in demonstrating to
his associates that it would be much cheaper for
the college to buy wood from the dearest dealer
than to cut it on its own lands and transport it in
its own sloop. It is strange how long-established
methods of obtaining the necessaries of life will con-
tinue, when a little thought will show that better
ones may be substituted.
When speaking just now of the decoration (or
absence of decoration) of college rooms, I ought to
have noticed one significant exception. My classmate,
Otis, had ornamented his mantelpiece with two curi-
42 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ous black stones, which excited great interest in his
visitors. He had made a journey to Washington, to
see his father, who was a Senator ; and had brought
these rarities home, as precious memorials of his
travels. He had a strange tale to tell concerning
them. It seemed that the people in Baltimore actu-
ally burned just such stones as these ; and, wonderful
to relate, there was no smoke in their chimneys. I
believe that these singular minerals have become so
popular in Harvard College that they are now brought
there in considerable quantities. The only change is
that they are no longer displayed on the mantelpiece,
but just below it — in the grate. They will be rec-
ognized under the name of anthracite coal.
There were two college clubs, to which admission
depended on scholarship. These were the Hasty
Pudding and the Phi Beta Kappa. In the former
there were nominally an essay and a discussion at
every meeting. In reality there was nothing of
the sort. There were pudding and molasses, and
nothing more. The latter, with the exception of its
annual dinner, had no meetings whatever, except those
necessary to receive new members ; but it possessed
the attraction of being a secret society, and we were
solemnly sworn never to reveal the mighty mysteries
that were confided to us at the ceremony of initia-
tion. During the great anti-Masonic excitement
John Quincy Adams brought it to pass that all
pledges of secrecy were removed, by a formal vote
of the society ; so that I am perfectly free to expose
all its mysteries, could I only remember what they
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 43
were. The secret of the brilliant annual dinners of
the Phi Beta, under the presidencies of Edward
Everett, Judge Story, Judge Warren, and others,
lies near the surface. It was very difficult for out-
siders to gain admission, so that the company was
one in which distinguished men were willing to un-
bend. Add to this — as the secret within the secret
— that we were absolutely secured against reporters.
There were other associations, known as " blowing
clubs," in connection with which drunkenness was
exhibited with a publicity that would not now be
tolerated. One of these societies — which is yet in
existence, though it is to be hoped that the habits
of its members have improved — was wont to have
a dinner on exhibition days. After the exercises in
the chapel, the brethren would march to Porter's
tavern, preceded by a full band ; and the attempt
was made to return in the same way. First would
come the band, the only steady part of the show,
whose music attracted a crowd of lookers-on. Then
came, reeling and swaying from side to side, a mass of
bacchanals, in all stages of intoxication. That this
disgraceful sight should have been tolerated by the
college authorities will seem surprising to those who
fail to realize the radical and beneficent change in
public sentiment which has taken place. To abstain
entirely from alcoholic liquors — the only safe course
for the young, and probably for the old also — was
then considered a priggish and ridiculous asceticism.
"When you get where you can't stop, Pat, be sure
you hold up ! " said an Irishman to his friend, who
44 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
was running down a hill, with a precipice at the
bottom of it. Some such advice as this may have
been given to the young fellows who were hastening
to their doom. But the customs of the time were all
in favor of indulgence in strong drink. Liquor was
openly sold from booths upon public days, and it was
even supposed that an occasional debauch was bene-
ficial to the health. Some of the victims were men
of most generous character and of brilliant intelli-
gence. All honor to the temperance party which has
brought authority — physiological, religious, and social
— to the rebuke of this monstrous evil.
But, among college clubs, the place of honor must
be reserved for the Med. Fac. (so abbreviated from
Medical Faculty), a roaring burlesque upon learned
bodies in general and the college government in par-
ticular. In this association was to be found some of
the most excellent fooling that I have ever met. We
had regular meetings, conducted with mock decorum,
at each of which a pseudo professor delivered a lecture
on some topic of medical interest. I remember a
capital discourse pronounced by my chum, Stetson,
on the science of osteology. He began with the
famous Be mortuis nil nisi bonum, which he asserted
to be a medical aphorism, meaning " You can get
nothing from dead men but their bones." From this
text he went on, with professorial gravity of manner,
piling absurdities upon one another in a way that
was simply irresistible. Those who knew this excel-
lent man as the Kev. Caleb Stetson will remember
how difficult it was for him to keep his rich sense
HARVARD SIXTY YEARS AGO. 45
of humor under due professional restraint. But as
orator of the Med. Fac. there was no conventional
fence to girdle in his honest love of fun, and it shone
out brightly, before suffering partial eclipse behind
the sacred desk.
The Medical Faculty were accustomed to issue
diplomas and honorary degrees, in imitation of those
dispensed by college officers. All sorts of queer
people were made the recipients of these distinctions,
and their names were at one time published in a
catalogue, each being loaded with cabalistic letters,
after the manner of those honored by academic
bodies. Among these diplomas one was sent to
the Emperor of Eussia, informing that potentate
that he had been elected a member of the Medical
Faculty of Harvard College. The affair was en-
grossed upon parchment and got up in splendid
style. It, moreover, gave a full list of the honorary
distinctions which had been graciously bestowed
upon the monarch on the occasion of his admission.
Just what came of this piece of audacity I cannot
say with any certainty; but the report was circulated
and believed that in due time a fine surgical library
arrived, consigned to the care of the authorities of
the college. This they were requested to make
over to their Medical Faculty, with the grateful
acknowledgments of their good brother, the Emperor.
Whether such an incident ever occurred is perhaps
doubtful. If it did, the authorities may have thought
that, under the circumstances, the best thing to be
done was to keep dark and to keep the books. But,
46 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
if there is any question whether our library was con-
fiscated, there is no doubt whatever that the Medical
Faculty was summarily broken up about the time
that despatches were due from their august member
in St. Petersburg. From some cause or other, the
government suddenly acted with immense energy,
and asserted that monopoly in the matter of con-
ferring degrees which has since been maintained.
Under the date of April 26, 1821, I find recorded
in my journal the impressions made upon me by the
oratory of Daniel Webster. He was at that time
thirty-nine years old, and had scarcely touched the
maturity of his remarkable powers. The occasion
was one of surpassing interest. James Prescott,
judge of the probate of wills, was impeached before
the Senate of Massachusetts, sitting as a high court
of judicature. The trial was conducted under forms
similar to those used in the famous prosecution of
Warren Hastings. Indeed, the whole proceeding
seemed like a provincial copy of that absorbing case ;
with this difference, however, that the great orators
were retained for the defence, instead of the prose-
cution. Daniel Webster, Samuel Hoar, William
Prescott, Samuel Hubbard, — the flower of the Bos-
ton bar, — appeared in behalf of Prescott. Articles
of impeachment had been found by the House of
Eepresentatives, which adjourned to be present at the
case. This popular body was represented by mana-
gers, as were the Commons of England in the prose-
cution of Hastings. When Webster was to make
his final plea, the galleries were crowded with ladies,
HARVAKD SIXTY YEAKS AGO. 47
the floor was packed by such fragment of the crowd
as could gain admission, and it might almost be said
that the pulse of the community stopped, from the
excitement of the moment.
By some extraordinary good fortune, or perhaps
favoritism, I found myself in one of the best seats in
that thronged assembly. On either side of me were
personages of no less importance than President Kirk-
land and Harrison Gray Otis. This was much as
if a student of Columbia College should find himself
sitting between Secretary Evarts and Cardinal Mc-
Closkey on an occasion of great public interest. No,
it would not be the same thing, after all ; for none of
the conspicuous men of to-day tower so majestically
above the rest of the world as their predecessors seemed
to rise above the smaller communities which were
subject unto them. But how can the triumphs of the
orator be represented upon paper ? It can be said
only that Webster spoke for nearly four hours, and
held the great assembly breathless under his spell.
I have noted in my journal the singular pathos of his
conclusion. After exclaiming that no man had dared
to come into that court to accuse his client of giving
a wrong judgment, he turned suddenly upon one of
the managers, and demanded whether, should God
summon him to his account that very night, he would
not leave the world in perfect confidence that the in-
terest of his children would be safe in the hands of
the upright judge against whom his impeachment
had been brought. The words in themselves are no
more than the libretto of an opera ; but, with Web-
48 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ster behind them, they seemed to sweep away all
adverse testimony, and to render an acquittal by
acclamation a simple necessity. It is, undoubtedly,
to the credit of the independence of the court that
Judge Prescott was not acquitted on all the counts
of the indictment ; but to have heard the noble effort
made in his behalf by Daniel Webster marked an
epoch in the lives of those present. It gave me my
first idea of the electric force that might be wielded
by a master of human speech.
COMMENCEMENT DAY IN 1821.
SIXTY years ago Commencement Day was a State
holiday. The banks were closed, business was
pretty generally suspended, and numbers of sightseers
repaired to Cambridge, as their ancestors had been ac-
customed to do a hundred years before. The college
exercises were held, as they had been for a century, in
the old Congregational meeting-house ; and the build-
ing was by no means ill-adapted to this purpose.
The galleries, which sloped at an angle of about forty-
five degrees, displayed to great advantage the beautiful
and fashionably dressed ladies with which they were
crowded. At the end of each of the four aisles a
wooden desk was erected, and from these forensics
had formerly been read. The speakers, of course,
delivered their parts from the platform. The stu-
dents belonging to Boston families of wealth gave
elaborate parties in honor of the occasion. These
were frequented by all the strangers who happened
to be in town, and advertised the college in a way
that was thought useful. Indeed, the government
were accused of giving parts to inferior scholars,
whose sumptuous entertainments would be likely to
lend dignity to the day.
4
50 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
The account of the conclusion of my college life
shall be copied just as it stands written in my diary.
I need not apologize for any crudities or egotism
which may be found in the wholly private records of
a youth who was legally a minor.
" July 16, 1821. — Attended a dissertation of Em-
erson's in the morning on the subject of Ethical
Philosophy. I found it long and dry. In the after-
noon we went to our last lecture on exhilarating gas.
Gorham fought, Dinsmore danced, Curtis laughed,
and Bunker swore, according as the ruling passion
swayed their breasts. In the evening I paid my last
visit to the Miss Hills. In the afternoon, went to
the President and got my dissertation, which he had
mislaid. He was quite facetious, for I had painted
my coat against the wall. This is the last evening
we spend in college. May I never look back upon
it with regret ! It strikes eleven, and I must go to
bed.
"July 17 th. — At nine in the morning I read my
dissertation, and it had the good fortune to please our
college critics. At half past ten we assembled at
Keating's room, and marched from there to the Pres-
ident's, and escorted him, with the rest of the govern-
ment, to the chapel, where Barnwell and Emerson
performed our valedictory exercises before all the
scholars and a number cf ladies. They were rather
poor and did but little honor to the class. We re-
turned with the President to his house immediately
after the exercises. At one o'clock all those who
were fortunate enough to obtain deturs went to the
COMMENCEMENT DAY IN 1821. 51
President to receive them. There were but eighteen
who got them. I had Westall's edition of ' Young's
Night Thoughts,' one of the best books that was given
out. At two we marched down to Porter's, where
we had a fine dinner. After the cloth was removed,
Mr. Cushing [afterward well known as Hon. Caleb
Cushing] came in, and gave for a toast : f The bands of
friendship, which always tighten when they are wet.'
After he had gone, Wood delivered an oration, which
was very witty and appropriate ; and then Alden re-
hearsed the woes and pleasures of college life in his
usual style. There were a number of original songs
sung : Alden sung one much to the amusement of us
all. When we had all drunk our skins full, we
marched round to all the professors' houses, danced
round the Kebellion and Liberty Trees, and then re-
turned to the hall. A great many of the class were
half-seas-over, and I had the pleasure of supporting
one of them. This was as hard work as I ever desire
to do. Many ladies came to witness our dancing, and
were much scandalized by the elevation of spirit
which some exhibited. We parted with more grief
than any class I ever saw, every one of us being
drowned in tears. Had I been told that I should
have felt so much, I should have laughed at the idea.
When it came to the point, however, I cried like the
rest of them. In the evening Frank Lowell and I
went over to Mr. John Lowell's, where we had a
very pleasant time. M^s Eliza S looked pret-
tier and talked better than I ever knew her to
before.
52 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
"August 29, 1821, Commencement Day. — In the
morning I went to prayers, to hear Mr. Cushing
pray ; for it is always customary for the particular
tutor of the graduating class to perform that duty on
Commencement morning. He read us an account of
the fall of Babylon and of the emancipation of the
oppressed Jews. This seemed very applicable to our
escape from the government, though I do not believe
he ever thought of it. His prayer was short and
not impressive. About eight o'clock the ladies came
over; and I got them into the meeting-house by
opening the door while the sexton was away, for
which I had a good scolding on his return. That,
however, was but a small matter. I then went to
Mr. Higginson's, and returned to wait on the ladies.
The house was full of very beautiful women, and
every one who spoke paid them some compliment or
other ; but most of them were rather lame ones. Hill
Second, Sampson Reed in the master's oration, Bur-
ton, and Leverett were very pathetic toward them.
A Miss , from Salem, attracted much attention
on account of the beauty of her neck ; and she, to
oblige admirers, wore no ruffles. All the Amorys,
Sullivans, Crowninshields, with long et ceteras, filled
the house. After the exercises, which were very
short, I went over to Porter's, where all the relations
of our family were assembled. They appeared grati-
fied with my performance. We had a very handsome
dinner ; and after it was over the Governor, Council,
and all the great and learned men, both friends and
strangers, came in and took wine with us. They all
COMMENCEMENT DAY IN 1821. 53
complimented me on my success, — in part payment,
I suppose, for the wine which they drank. Among
my relations was Mrs. Storer, who is eighty-six years
old, and who attended the Commencements of my
father and grandfather. She seemed to enjoy the
day as highly as anybody. We visited Mrs. Farrar,
after our company had gone, and found there many
young ladies, in addition to all the gentlemen who
had visited us. In the evening my sisters and my-
self went to Mr. Otis's great ball (given in honor of
the graduation of his son), and there we enjoyed our-
selves highly. It was nearly twelve o'clock before
we returned. Thus ends my college life. I must
now begin the world."
I will conclude this account of my connection with
Harvard College by alluding briefly to my final ap-
pearance as a pupil of that institution. This was on
the occasion of my taking a master's degree. Now
this same degree was at that time given in regular
course to every one who had been three years out of
college and who chose to pay for it. A man might
have forgotten the little he had learned, and have
failed to acquire any new knowledge to take its place,
he was still entitled to be proclaimed master of arts
on the simple condition above specified. The change
of policy, which now requires a serious examination
to be passed before this degree can be conferred, is
one of the many beneficial reforms which later times
have instituted.
It was formerly the custom for at least two of the
candidates for the master's degree to be assigned parts
54 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
at Commencement. An oration in English and a
Latin valedictory were commonly spoken by three-
year graduates. A few days before the Commence-
ment of 1824 I received a letter from President
Kirkland, in which he said that the person to whom
the valedictory had been assigned had not put in an
appearance, and nobody knew where he was to be
found. This was William Withington, a classmate of
mine and an excellent scholar, but somewhat awkward
in his manner and with small gifts as a speaker. As
my rank in the class entitled me to succeed the miss-
ing Withington, the President begged me to prepare
a Latin discourse without more ado ; for it was to be
a great day for the college, as General Lafayette was
to be present. It may be that the graduates of our
colleges to-day are capable of breaking into the dead
languages at a moment's notice ; but certain it is that
the instruction that was to be had sixty years ago
did not communicate this desirable facility. To
comply with the President's request would have been
simply impossible, had it not been for an important
package which accompanied his letter. This con-
tained a number of Latin compositions adapted to
academic festivals. They had evidently been used
with some freedom by past orators ; but, as they had
never been reported and as the bulk of the audiences
did not understand a word of them, they were as
bright and fresh as ever. It was evidently the in-
tention of Dr. Kirkland that this useful literature
should be largely drawn upon in preparing the vale-
dictory. The conventional compliments to governors,
COMMENCEMENT DAY IN 1821. 55
magistrates, and others in authority were as good as
ever. The only thing to be done was to add some
original sentences applicable to the nation's guest,
and then to recast, as well as my limited time
allowed me to do, the matter which had been so
thoughtfully furnished.
My reminiscences of Lafayette, whom I afterward
had the privilege of seeing intimately, do not belong
in this paper. My present concern is with Com-
mencement Day at Harvard. The galleries of the
venerable meeting-house had been thronged with
ladies from an early hour in the morning. But the
General, who had to be received at almost every
cross-road, was waylaid at Cambridgeport, where a
triumphal arch had been erected in his honor. Here
addresses and replies must be exchanged, so that he
was some hours behind time on reaching the colleges.
Notwithstanding the expectant and wearied audience
which was waiting in the meeting-house, the Presi-
dent did not see fit to omit his address of welcome,
which was delivered from the porch which then stood
in front of University Hall. The General's reply
was brief, and concluded with a Latin quotation,
which, being given with the European pronunciation
of that language, was not understood. At length the
procession was formed and proceeded to the meeting-
house, and the most memorable Commencement ex-
ercises which those old walls had ever witnessed were
begun, about two o'clock in the afternoon.
To describe the enthusiasm that greeted the guest
of the day is simply impossible. Those who felt it
56 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
— those who were lifted up by it — knew that it
was a unique experience of which nothing adequate
could be said. Lafayette was seated in a conspicuous
place upon the platform. Most of the speakers al-
luded in some way to his presence, and so permitted
the repressed rapture to burst forth. Never was
homage so unbounded, so heartfelt, so spontaneous.
It was as if one of the great heroes of history had
been permitted to return to earth. The exercises
were all good ; but the oration by Edward B. Emer-
son, the first scholar of the year, and the master's
oration by my classmate, Upham, were probably as
fine performances as have ever been given at a Har-
vard Commencement. Both these young men reached
the level of the occasion; and what more can be
said? The valedictory, of course, came last, and I
felt rather awkward in rising to declaim my stilted
Latin phrases before an audience which had been
stirred by such vigorous English. The first part of
my performance consisted of mere phrases of rhe-
torical compliment thrown out at creation in general.
I rolled them out as well as I could ; but they seemed
neither stimulating nor, in fact, comprehensible to
the audience. But the inevitable allusion came at
last. I had drifted among the heroes of the Eevo-
lution, and suddenly turned to the General with my
In te quoque, Lafayette ! — and then what an uproar
drowned the rest of the sentence ! " Why, sir, do you
know, the pit rose at me ! " said Edmund Kean, after
his first performance of Shy lock at Drury Lane. The
expression of the player is perhaps as good as any-
COMMENCEMENT DAY IN 1821. 57
thing I can borrow to indicate the scene before me.
The entire audience upon the floor had sprung to
their feet ; the ladies in the galleries were standing
also, and were waving their handkerchiefs with im-
passioned ardor. It was the last opportunity which
the day was to offer to pay homage to the guest of
America, and, as if by one consent, it was improved
to the utmost. I could not but share the excite-
ment provoked by the magic name I had uttered,
and was scarcely responsible for the concluding sen-
tences.
And thus my connection with Harvard College
came to an end, — a satisfactory conclusion, truly,
were it not for the awkward confession that I was
not the man to whom that most memorable of vale-
dictories rightfully belonged. It was by reason of
the generosity or misfortune of my classmate, Wil-
liam Withington, that I took leave of Cambridge in
a manner so agreeable.
REMINISCENCES OF THE SECOND
PRESIDENT.
TV /TY earliest recollections of the second President
-*-*-*- go back to the time when, as a child, hardly
more than five years old, I used to gaze upon him in
the Quincy meeting-house. I have a perfect remem-
brance of his being pointed out to me by my father,
who told me that I must be sure to remember him,
as he was an old man and could not be with us long.
It was, of course, not supposed that he would attain
the great and exceptional age which he reached, and
that I should have the privilege of frequent associa-
tion with him for so many years. I remember gazing
at him with the wondering eyes of a child, and mar-
velling why he was called " President," and why he
was considered better worth seeing than Captain Bass
and the other old men of the village. The meeting-
house in Quincy, so associated with John Adams,
may be worth a brief description. I have no distinct
remembrance of the building previous to its enlarge-
ment, in 1806, but have heard its appearance previous
to that date often described by Mr. Adams and by
members of my own family. It was built in 1731,
and, according to our present ideas, was queer and
comfortless. The body of the house was occupied
REMINISCENCES OF THE SECOND PRESIDENT. 59
by long seats, the men being placed on one side of
the broad aisle and the women on the other. The
oldest inhabitants were always seated in front. "I
never shall forget/' Mr. Adams once said to me, " the
rows of venerable heads ranged along those front
benches which, as a young fellow, I used to gaze
upon. They were as old and gray as mine is now."
The deacons were accommodated just under the pulpit,
while the sexton had a bench in the rear, perhaps to
keep a watch over the young people on the back
seats. One of the oddest things about the church
was a little hole high up in the wall, through which
the bell-ringer might be seen in the exercise of his
vocation. It was the duty of this functionary to
keep his eye upon the congregation, and to mark
by the customary tolling the arrival of the minister.
As time wore on, some wall-pews began to appear
in the old meeting-house. These were built by in-
dividuals, at their own expense, permission having
been first gained by a vote of the town. And there
are curious votes upon this subject in the early rec-
ords. On one occasion it was voted that a prominent
personage might "build him a pew over the pulpit,
provided he so builds as not to darken the pulpit."
And a friend of mine here suggests that, as a figure
of speech, pews may now be said to be built over
the pulpit with some frequency, and regrets that the
good divines of the town, whose life-long sway was
arbitrary and unquestioned, did not have the wit to
prevent that perilous permission. For, notwithstand-
ing the wholesome caution of the old record, it has
60 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
been found impossible " not to darken the pulpit "
when the pews are placed above it.
An ancestor of mine was permitted to fence off the
first pew, and his example was quickly followed by
others. This was a recognition of caste in the one
place where men should meet on terms of perfect
equality. I cannot but think that this innovation
upon the good custom of our forefathers has had its
effect in alienating from religious services a large
portion of our population. A notable addition to
the Sunday exercises in the Quincy meeting-house
followed the introduction of the pews ; for the seats
in these aristocratic pens were upon hinges, and were
always raised during the long prayer, for the purpose
of allowing those who stood to rest themselves by
leaning against the railing. At the conclusion of
the devotion, the sudden descent of all the seats
sounded like a volley of musketry, and was a source
of considerable terror to those who heard it for the
first time. When the increase of population rendered
aesirable an enlargement of the meeting-house, it
was sawed through the middle ; and, the two halves
being separated, an addition was built to reunite
them. The President's pew was conspicuous in the
reconstructed edifice, and there the old man was to
be seen at every service. An air of respectful defer-
ence to John Adams seemed to pervade the building.
The ministers brought their best sermons when they
came to exchange, and had a certain consciousness
in their manner as if officiating before royalty. The
medley of stringed and wind instruments in the gal-
REMINISCENCES OF THE SECOND PRESIDENT. 61
lery — a survival of the sacred trumpets and shawms
mentioned by King David — seemed to the imagi-
nation of a child to be making discord together in
honor of the venerable chief who was the centre of
interest.
When I was about six years old, I was put to
school to the Eev. Peter Whitney; and, spending
the winter in his family, was often asked to dine
on Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Adams. This was
at first somewhat of an ordeal for a boy; but the
genuine kindness of the President, who had not the
smallest chip of an iceberg in his composition, soon
made me perfectly at ease in his society. With Mrs.
Adams there was a shade more formality. A con-
sciousness of age and dignity, which was often some-
what oppressive, was customary with old people of
that day in the presence of the young. Something
of this Mrs. Adams certainly had, though it wore off
or came to be disregarded by me, for in the end I
was strongly attached to her. She always dressed
handsomely, and her rich silks and laces seemed appro-
priate to a lady of her dignified position in the town.
If there was a little savor of patronage in the generous
hospitality she exercised among her simple neighbors,
it was never regarded as more than a natural empha-
sis of her undoubted claims to precedence. The aris-
tocratic colonial families were still recognized, for the
tide of democracy had not risen high enough to cover
these distinctions. The parentage and descent of
Mrs. Adams were undoubtedly of weight in estab-
lishing her position ; although, as we now look at
62 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
things, the strong personal claims of herself and hus-
band would seem to have been all sufficient.
I well remember the modest dinners at the Presi-
dent's, to which I brought a school-boy's appetite.
The pudding, generally composed of boiled corn-meal,
always constituted the first course. This was the
custom of the time, — it being the ught desirable to
take the edge off of one's hunger before reaching the
joint. Indeed, it was considered wise to stimulate
the young to fill themselves with pudding, by the
assurance that the boy who managed to eat the most
of it should be helped most abundantly to the meat,
which was to follow. It need not be said that neither
the winner nor his competitors found much room for
meat at the close of their contest ; and so the domes-
tic economy of the arrangement was very apparent.
Miss Smith, a niece of Mrs. Adams, was an inmate
of the ^resident's family, and one of these ladies
always carved. Mr. Adams made his contribution
to the service of the table in the form of that good-
humored, easy banter, which makes a dinner of herbs
more digestible than is a stalled ox without it. At
a later period of our acquaintance, I find preserved
in my journals frequent though too meagre reports
of his conversation. But of the time of which I am
writing there is not a word recoverable. I can dis-
tinctly picture to myself a certain iron spoon which
the old gentleman once fished up from the depths of
a pudding in which it had been unwittingly cooked ;
but of the pleasant things he said in those easy din-
ner-talks no trace remains.
REMINISCENCES OF THE SECOND PRESIDENT. 63
I have mentioned the meeting-house as associated
with President Adams, and as giving character to his
native town. But there was another locality in Quincy
which was a still more interesting resort for its in-
habitants ; at least, during the earlier portions of their
lives. Among my boyish recollections there is dis-
tinctly visible a very pretty hill, which rose from the
banks of the river, or what passed for one, and was
covered with trees of the original forest growth.
This was known as Cupid's Grove ; and it had been
known under that title for at least three generations,
and perhaps from the settlement of the town. The
name suggests the purposes to which this sylvan spot
was dedicated. It was the resort of the lovers of the
vicinage, or of those who, if circumstances favored,
might become so. The trunks of the trees were cut
and scarred all over with the initials of ladies who
were fair and beloved, or who once had been so ; for
it was then the fashion to pay modest maidens a
compliment which would be now thought in very
doubtful taste. But, as Shakespeare makes his Or-
lando — a fine, spirited fellow and very much of a
gentleman — cut the name of Rosalind upon every
available bit of timber in the forest of Arden, it will
not be necessary to apologize for the habits of my
contemporaries in this respect. It is sad to mention
that poor Cupid has long been driven from his sanc-
tuary, which has suffered violence at the hands of his
brother god of heathendom, who has so often gotten
the better of him. Plutus strode by that humble
hillock, and straightway the grove was cut down
64 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
and sold for firewood; and not only this, but the
little eminence itself was purchased for its gravel,
and under that form, as I believe, has been dumped
upon the vulgar highway. The fate of Cupid's Grove
is typical of that of the romance which was associated
with places of this nature in our older New England
towns. In the days when there were no public libra-
ries, no travelling operas, no theatre trains, — when,
in fact, the one distraction of the week was going to
meeting, — who can wonder that the flowery paths
leading to the domestic circle were more frequented
than at present ?
In those old times it happened that a certain young
lawyer, named John Adams, was wont to visit a good
deal at the house of a great-grandfather of mine, who
had a large landed estate and several daughters ; and
the family tradition is that one of these ladies was
not wholly uninteresting to the young fellow, who
had just begun his struggle with the world. Just
what it all amounted to it is impossible to say, at
this distance of time; neither would it be well to
say it, even if it were possible. The historical facts
are that my great-aunt married Ebenezer Storer —
a gentleman of some pretension, who was for forty
years treasurer of Harvard College — and that young
Adams married Miss Abigail Smith. Eventful years
rolled by, and I, a young man, just entering life, was
deputed to attend my venerable relative on a visit to
the equally venerable ex-President. Both parties
were verging upon their ninetieth year. They had
met very infrequently, if at all, since the days of
REMINISCENCES OF THE SECOND PRESIDENT. 65
their early intimacy. When Mrs. Storer entered the
room, the old gentleman's face lighted up, as he ex-
claimed, with ardor, " What ! Madam, shall we not
go walk in Cupid's Grove together ? h To say the
truth, the lady seemed somewhat embarrassed by this
utterly unlooked-for salutation. It seemed to hurry
her back through the past with such rapidity as fairly
to take away her breath. But self-possession came at
last, and with it a suspicion of girlish archness, as
she replied, " All, sir, it would not be the first time
that we have walked there ! "
Perhaps the incident is not worth recording, as
there is really no way of getting upon paper the
suggestiveness that it had to a witness. For a mo-
ment the burden of years seemed to be thrown aside,
and the vivacity of youth reasserted itself. The flash
of old sentiment was startling from its utter unex-
pectedness. I shall hereafter have occasion to copy
from my journals fragments of the conversation of
this distinguished man ; but I can give nothing which
made more impression upon me than this little speech.
It is the sort of thing which sets a young fellow to
thinking. It is a surprise to find a great personage
so simple, so perfectly natural, so thoroughly human ;
and it needs but a little reflection to discover that he
is great because — among more obvious reasons — he
can always draw upon a good balance of these homely,
commonplace qualities.
VISITS TO JOHN ADAMS.
"AURING the last five years of the life of John
J -^ Adams I enjoyed the privilege of constant
intercourse with him during the summer months.
Several times a week I went to his house, where I
frequently read aloud to him or acted as his amanu-
ensis. I shall give some gleanings from his conver-
sations, as I find them recorded in my journals.
"September 6, 1820. — Judge Winston and Major
Sommerville, gentlemen from the South, drove out
this morning and stayed with us some time. Then
we all went up to call upon President Adams. His
visitors asked him his opinion of Patrick Henry, and
whether he was not the greatest orator he had ever
heard. His reply was : ' No, gentlemen. Much of
Wirt's life of him is a romance. Why, I have heard
that gentleman's father [pointing to one who was
present] speak in a strain of eloquence to which Pat-
rick Henry could never pretend/ He paused, and
then added, 'You know Virginian geese are always
swans.' Notwithstanding these remarks, the gentle-
men seemed very much pleased with their visit."
In a letter addressed to Mr. Wirt himself, and
bearing date January 5, 1818, 1 find that Mr. Adams's
VISITS TO JOHN ADAMS. 67
testimony is the same. The passage is characteris-
tic enough for quotation. He writes : " James Otis
electrified the town of Boston, the Province of Massa-
chusetts Bay, and the whole continent more than
Patrick Henry ever did in the whole course of his
life. If we must have panegyrics and hyperboles,
I must say that if Mr. Henry was Demosthenes and
Mr. Eichard Henry Lee was Cicero, James Otis was
Isaiah and Ezekiel united."
"November 2, 1821. — To-day President Adams
walked down to see us (the distance was about a
mile), and arrived a little before noon. He gave us
an account of his early law life. His father hoped
he would be a clergyman ; but the nature of the
doctrines which were then taught repelled him. On
leaving college, he went to Worcester, where he kept
school and studied law at the same time."
From the journal of another member of the family
I quote a fuller account of what passed at this visit.
" Mr. Adams talked freely, and said : ' After I left
college, I came home to Braintree, to see my friends ;
and then went to Worcester, to keep school to sup-
port myself, while at the same time I studied law
with Judge Putnam. I advise every young man to
keep school. I acquired more knowledge of human
nature while I kept that school than while I was at
the bar, than while I was in the world of politics or
at the Courts of Europe. It is the best method of
acquiring patience, self-command, and a knowledge
of character. After I had finished my studies, I
opened an office in Braintree, and lived here some
68 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
years, the town being then in Suffolk County. The
bar was then crowded with eminent lawyers. I re-
moved to Boston for two or three years, but was
so overwhelmed with business that I was forced to
return to Braintree, for my health.' Mr. Adams spoke
of the advantages of keeping a regular journal, and
said that he had kept one during the four years of
his college life, which he had foolishly destroyed.
He would now give anything in the world to have
it again."
To go back a little, I will copy my entries made
on September 27th, in the same year. " Mrs. Head
and Miss Tyng called in the afternoon. They were
full of complaints of the love which ladies in this
town have for scandal. In the evening we all went
up to President Adams's, where the fair ones of Mil-
ton and Quincy met in harmony. We had quite a
pleasant time, dancing to the piano — not in the most
graceful style imaginable. Miss Helen looked beau-
tifully, played angelically, and talked wisely. Presi-
dent Adams gave the girls a fine account of the
ancient belles and beaux of this place. And as future
ages will, undoubtedly, inquire who were our divini-
ties, I subjoin a catalogue. To posterity, you degen-
erate race that will be, — you who never saw Miss
Lyman, nor Miss Brooks, nor the ■ Panorama of
Athens,' — know that in the town of Quincy, at the
residence of President Adams, on the night of Sep-
tember 27th, 1821, assembled the following ladies :
Miss Duncan and two Misses Codman, sojourners at
Mrs. Black's; three Misses Marstons; Miss Whitney;
VISITS TO JOHN ADAMS. 69
Miss Aptborp and three Greenleafs ; Miss Baxter
and Mrs. Barney Smith, in all the trappings of —
I wonder how people will dress seventy years from
now. I will leave a blank here for any gentle reader
of that period to write down the mode. Now for all
these ladies there were but six gentlemen, — the three
Adamses, George Whitney, Mr. Smith, and myself."
"August 26, 1822. — George Otis dined with me,
and in the afternoon Sam. Phillips, of Andover, ar-
rived to spend the night. In the evening I accom-
panied him to the President's, and found the old
gentleman well and lively. Speaking of the contro-
versy between Dr. Stewart, of Andover, and Mr.
Miller, of New York, concerning the eternal genera-
tion of the Son, he became quite eloquent, censuring
the idea as inconceivable and impious. The conver-
sation passed to his son, John Quincy Adams, of
whom his father said, 'He has a very hard, laborious,
and unhappy life ; though he is envied by half the
people in the United States for his talents and sit-
uation.' Speaking of the navy, he said that if we
had thirty ships of the line no European nation
would dare to attack us, as not even England could
spare that number at such a distance from her own
coasts."
"September 1, 1822. — Visited the President, as
usual. He was quite amusing, and gave us many
anecdotes of his life. He was particularly funny in
an account of an interview he had with the Turkish
ambassador in England, whom he astonished by his
power of smoking. Also he spoke of the Emperor
70 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
of Morocco, who made an easy treaty with us be-
cause we were Unitarians. (The meaning, of course,
is because the nation put forward no dogmatic state-
ment of Christian belief.) He spoke concerning the
Jesuits, African religions, Belzoni, and total deprav-
ity. On this last topic he told us an anecdote of
Governor Tichenor, of Vermont. After he had been
in Congress, he sent for an old friend of his, with
whom he had often disputed the question, and con-
fessed to him that he was entirely converted, for his
political life had established his belief in the total
depravity of mankind. The President spoke of the
Treaty of Ghent, and said that the shore fisheries on
the coast of Labrador were much superior to those
on the banks of Newfoundland. He said that the
word ' liberty ' was used in the first treaty, at the
request of the English commissioners, as a sugar-
plum to the common people. It was, however, ex-
pressly admitted that a right and a liberty were
synonymous."
"November 6, 1821. — Went to take a farewell of
the old President, and read to him for the last time
this season. He thanked me repeatedly, quoting the
words of the Apostle, and saying that he sorrowed
most of all that he should see my face no more. He
appears very well ; but life at his age is precarious.
He gave me an account of his forming one of a party
of young men to be inoculated with the small-pox,
and going with them to be confined for several weeks
in a pest-house, as was the custom before vaccina-
tion was introduced. Before going, he called on
VISITS TO JOHN ADAMS. 71
Dr. Byles (a personage much noted as a humorist).
When they parted, Byles said : ' I give you my
blessing, like a Eomish priest, — Pax tecum. I mean,
of course, Pox take 'em! He asked me what I had
been reading. I told him the life of Sir William
Jones, and I remarked on the excellence of his
mother. 'Young man,' said the President, ' did you
ever hear of a great and good man who had not a
good mother ? ' He mentioned a family which had
long been influential, and said that the reason was
because they gave good mothers to their children."
" August 18, 1822. — Visited the President this
evening, and heard a number of his pleasant stories.
He complained of the intolerance of Christians, and
thought that the old Roman system of permitting
every man to worship how and what he pleased was
the true one. He liked the opinion of Justin Martyr
that every honest, well-disposed, moral man, even if
he were an atheist, should be accounted a Christian.
He said that for nearly eighty years most of his lei-
sure moments had been spent in examining the various
religions of the world, and that this was the conclu-
sion he had come to. Some one observed that in
Kentucky everybody was either a bigot or an atheist.
He replied that it was pretty much the same all the
world over."
It is scarcely necessary to say that random con-
versational utterances, given without their context,
and copied without even sequence of dates, are not
to be taken as the measure of a great man's
thought on the most solemn of all subjects. Mr.
72 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Adams always professed himself a Christian, and
was a constant attendant at church. His son, John
Quincy Adams, when asked about his father's reli-
gious belief, used to tell this anecdote. John Adams
was once visiting a town in Spain, where the arch-
bishop, wishing to do him all honor, took him through
the cathedral. During their inspection they came
upon a shrine where some relics were being exhibited
by the priest in attendance. At the sight of these
holy remains, the archbishop and those about him
bowed their heads and made the sign of the cross upon
their foreheads. Mr. Adams, however, did not think it
necessary to imitate this act of devotion. "Comment ! "
exclaimed the shocked custodian, in French, to his
superior. " Est-ce que Monsieur riest pas Chretien ? "
Such a question relating to a guest to whom the
archbishop was doing the honors was a little awk-
ward. But the prelate was not disconcerted. He
replied promptly and with a smile, " Oui, a sa mani-
ere" — " Yes, in his own way." And, in the judgment
of his son, this happy hit of the ecclesiastic was the
best possible answer that could be made to the ques-
tion. Mr. Adams was in the habit of speaking his
mind with freedom upon the narrow views and bitter
temper which were then too common among sects.
He would tell a story which he has written out in
a letter to Dr. Bancroft. A gentleman, being called
upon to give to some missionary fund, confronted the
man with the subscription book with this expression
of his views : " There are in and about the town of
ministers of nine congregations. Not one of
VISITS TO JOHN ADAMS. 73
them lives en terms of civility with any other, will
admit none other into his pulpit, nor be permitted to
go into the pulpit of any other. Now, if you will
raise a fund to convert these nine clergymen to
Christianity, I will contribute as much as any man."
To conclude this subject, I will give a remark of
John Adams, which made a great impression upon
the lady to whom it was addressed, and which has
lately been recalled to my remembrance. In 1820
Judge Cranch, a near relative of the President, lost
two lovely daughters. The lady I refer to visited
Mr. Adams, to express her sympathy, and said, among
other things, that she feared the father would hardly
be able to support such a loss. The old gentleman
looked her in the face, and replied slowly, in a tone
of rebuke and with great vigor of emphasis, "Madam,
I suppose Judge Cranch is a Christian ! "
" October 30, 1824. — After an early dinner, rode to
Quincy, to see President Adams and keep his eighty-
ninth birthday with him. I scarcely ever saw him
look better or converse with more spirit. He spoke
of Monday's election, and was especially rejoiced that
all parties looked with such affection and confidence
to our present form of government. What might be
the state of things hereafter, when our territory and
population increased, he said he could not tell ; but
he evidently had apprehensions. Finally, he said he
would console himself with the reflection of an old
woman he mentioned. This was that God was always
above the devil."
"February 14, 1825. — Eode to Quincy with my
74 FIGUEES OF THE PAST.
mother, to visit the President and to congratulate him
on the election of his son. He appeared in good
spirits, but was considerably affected by the fulfil-
ment of his highest wishes. In the course of con-
versation, my mother compared him to that old man
who was pronounced by Solon to be the happiest of
mortals when he expired on hearing of his son's suc-
cess at the Olympic Games. The similarity of their
situations visibly moved the old gentleman, and tears
of joy rolled down his cheek. Notwithstanding this
he afterward said : ' No man who ever held the office
of President would congratulate a friend on obtaining
it. He will make one man ungrateful and a hundred
men his enemies for every office he can bestow.' "
I now turn back to 1822, and make my concluding
extract from the diary of October 30. " Visited the
President in the morning ; and, after writing a letter
to Mathew Carey from his dictation, conversed with
him on several literary subjects. Speaking of Cicero's
treatise ' De Senectute,' he said that he read it every
year. He declared Cato was quite a Christian in
feeling when he says, ' Si quis deus mihi largiatur,
ut ex hac aetate repuerascam et in cunis vagiam, valde
recusem : nee vero velim, quasi decurso spatio, ad car-
ceres a calce revocari.' The President recommended
Cicero and Pliny as models of literary style, and a
letter written to Lord Mansfield by — the name I can-
not recall. He thought Lord Bolingbroke's ' Patriot
King ' was serviceable to public speakers. I do not
admire Bolingbroke as much as he does ; probably
from want of taste. I read to him the last part
VISITS TO JOHN ADAMS. 75
of the ' Senectute,' where the orator combats the idea
that the near approach of death is an evil. When
I reached the passage where Cicero anticipates his
reunion with those he had known and his meeting
with those of whom he had read, the old gentleman
became much excited and exclaimed : ' That is just
as I feel. Nothing would tempt me to go back. I
agree with my old friend, Dr. Franklin, who used to
say on this subject, " We are all invited to a great
entertainment. Your carriage comes first to the door;
but we shall all meet there." Who would think such
an old age a burden, honored in this world and hop-
ing soon to depart for a better, where he believes he
shall meet not only the friends he has lost, but all
the great and good who have gone before him \ "
This last extract fairly represents the prevailing
mood of mind of John Adams during his closing
years.
TALKS WITH JOHN ADAMS.
WILL make a few more extracts from my jour-
-*- nal which report the conversation of the second
President.
" Sunday, September 16, 1821. — Dr. Porter preached
all day ; in the morning from Job vii. 1, and in the
afternoon from Ezekiel xxxiii. 13. He is quite a good
preacher and seemingly alive to the doctrines he in-
culcates. He called to see us after church. In the
evening my father and myself went, as usual, to
President Adams's. There we found J. Q. Adams,
and my father had a long discussion with the Presi-
dent and his son upon the hopes and benefits of
peace. J. Q. Adams opposed the idea that war in the
abstract was wicked, for in every war one side must
be right. He said: 'I consider an unjust war as the
greatest of all human atrocities ; but I esteem a just
one as the highest of all human virtues. War calls
into exercise the highest feelings and powers of man.
Alexander, Caesar, and the Crusades were the great
causes of civilization. If an army could march into
the heart of Africa and wage war there for twenty
years, we might hope that civilization and religion
would be the consequences.' The old President
TALKS WITH JOHN ADAMS. 7<
said that he considered wars and battles as he did
storms and hurricanes. They were the necessary
evils of nature, which in the end worked for good.
He thought that human society, like the ocean, needed
commotion to keep it from putrefying. ' For my own
part,' he exclaimed, ' I should not like to live in the
Millennium. It would be the most sickish life im-
aginable.' Both the gentlemen were of the opinion
that wars increased population. In this connection
the old gentleman told a story of the great Conde*.
After a battle, in which he had lost twenty thousand
and the enemy thirty thousand men, he was walking
over the field, with his staff, and observed several
of his officers weeping. Upon asking them the cause,
they replied that they could not help feeling sadly
for the thousands of their fellow-creatures lying dead
around. ' Oh ! is that all ? ' said the general. ' De-
pend upon it that Paris will restore the balance again
in a single night.' My father defended his Peace
Society, on the ground of the amelioration in the
condition of mankind that peace would bring to
pass. Finally, he got the two gentlemen into a dis-
pute over the merits of Alexander the Great. He
then rose and left them at loggerheads ; saying, as
he went out, much to their amusement, 'You see I
have conquered by dividing the enemies of peace.' "
The social life in Quincy in those simple days did
not necessitate late hours, as will be seen from my
entry two days after this conversation. " We came
home from Mrs. Black's at the orthodox hour of nine.
This is such a standing time for breaking up in
78 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Quincy that the very horses know the impropriety
of staying a moment later. Mrs. Black's horse, for
instance, the moment the nine o'clock bell rings,
always sets off and goes home, whether anybody is
in the carriage or not ; but he never pretends to stir
without that warning."
" October 10, 1822. — Spent a couple of hours this
forenoon in writing for the President. He keeps
copies of all the letters he writes, and told me that
he had done so for most of his life. On returning
from the debates in Congress, he frequently had to
sit up till after midnight to copy letters. c Nothing
but the independence of my country,' he said, ' would
have tempted me to labor as I have done.' He talked
very freely of some of his contemporaries, and may
have been prejudiced in his views. He accused Judge
of duplicity and of glorying in it, and gave an
anecdote, by way of example. He thought, with Dr.
Johnson, that Voltaire was the most correct and in-
teresting of historians. Speaking of himself, he said :
' They say I am vain. Thank God I am so. Vanity
is the cordial drop which makes the bitter cup of life
go down. I agree with Mrs. Elizabeth Montague,
who wrote to her uncle, the Bishop, to inquire whether
the text " All is vanity and vexation of spirit " was not
badly translated. She thought it ought to be " All is
vanity or vexation of spirit." She implied that what
was not vanity was sure to be vexation, and there I
am with her.' "
And here my own reports of the conversation of
Mr. Adams come to an end. I am, however, per-
TALKS WITH JOHN ADAMS. 79
mitted to continue the subject by copying a few
extracts from the diary of my sister, who was in the
habit of keeping a daily record of events.
"May 22, 1821. — President Adams paid us a
morning visit of two hours. Said he had been read-
ing the history of the Fronde. He talked of Queen
Elizabeth, and said he thought she was obliged to
put Mary to death. She had three questions to ask
herself: Shall I sacrifice my own life, the Protestant
religion, and the laws of England ? Self-preservation,
religion, and law required the death of the Scottish
Queen. Mary's family and education were bad and
corrupted her character, and she transmitted them to
her descendants. He advised the reading of Eapin's
History of England, saying that Hume and Smollett
were to be read only for their style, as you would
read a poem like the ' Iliad.' Eapin is an impartial
historian. If you cannot read his whole history, at
least read the reign of Elizabeth. Hume and Smollett
are party historians. Of Dr. Johnson's ' Easselas,' he
said that he did not like its tendency. It gave a false
estimate of human life. He mentioned that Bishop
Butler's sermons were always upon his table, and said
of Pascal's ' Provincial Letters ' that it was one of
the most perfect books ever written."
"June 17, 1822. — Mr. Adams called to see us,
and read a letter he had just received from Jefferson.
He was asked to explain why he was now on such
good terms with Jefferson and received such affec-
tionate letters from him, after the abuse with which
he had been loaded by that gentleman. He replied:
80 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
' I do not believe that Mr. Jefferson ever hated me.
On the contrary, I believed he always liked me; but
he detested Hamilton and my whole administration.
Then he wished to be President of the United States,
and I stood in his way. So he did everything that
he could to pull me down. But if I should quarrel
with him for that, I might quarrel with every man
I have had anything to do with in life. This is
human nature. Did you never hear the lines
' ' I love my friend as well as you,
But why should he obstruct my view ? "
I forgive all my enemies and hope they may find
mercy in heaven. Mr. Jefferson and I have grown
old and retired from public life. So we are upon
our ancient terms of good-will.' "
" June 9, 1823. — Old Mr. Adams and his son
visited us, and the former talked a great deal. He
was asked why we heard so little of Mr. Dickinson,
the author of the ' Farmer's Letters ' and one of the
signers of the Declaration. ' He became discouraged,'
replied Mr. Adams, ' and for some time was one of
the most violent opposers of the Declaration of In-
dependence. He had a wife and a mother who were
both Quakers, and they tormented him exceedingly,
telling him that he was ruining himself and his coun-
try by the course he was pursuing. If I had had
such a mother and such a wife, I believe I should
have shot myself. If they had opposed me, it would
have made me so very unhappy. I could not have
lived had I not pursued the course I did. One day in
Congress, Mifflin, a relative of Dickinson, had a dis-
TALKS WITH JOHN ADAMS. 81
pute with him. Dickinson had said, in the course
of a speech, that, in driving a team of horses, it was
necessary to rein in the most forward and to encour-
age the slow and lagging. Mifflin got up and said,
" Not so, Mr. President. You had better knock the
dull and lazy horses on the head and put them out
of the team. It will go on much better without
them." The circumstances of his family and his own
timidity made Dickinson take the course he did. He
was a man of immense property and founded a col-
lege in Pennsylvania/ Speaking of Washington, Mr.
Adams said that his character stood upon a firm basis
of integrity and must always remain unassailable.
He doubted, however, whether he was so great a
statesman as was popularly supposed. He said :
4 Washington died very rich, but gained his property
in a fair way, — by inheritance from his father, who
was a man of large fortune ; by the legacy of Mount
Vernon from his brother ; by his wife, who was the
widow of a man of fortune. Then he made a good
deal of money in his youth, when he was surveying
in the woods. The Farewell Address to the people of
the United States was, I think, written by himself,
and then given to Hamilton and Jay. Hamilton
read it, no doubt ; but I think that Jay finally drew
it up and finished it. I know that it has been attrib-
uted to Hamilton ; but it is not in his style. It is
in Jay's style.' Mr. Adams talked on for two hours.
He told us how Judge Edmund Quincy knocked
down a robber whom he met while travelling from
Braintree to Boston. In lifting up his cane to illus-
6
82 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
trate the deed, the old gentleman nearly demolished
a picture which hung just behind him. When he
rose to go, he said, ' If I was to come here once a
day, I should live half a year longer.' The reply
was made : ' You had much better come twice a
day, and live a year longer.' He said the sugges-
tion was a good one, and that he would return
again in the afternoon."
"June 12, 1823. — Mr. Adams called, and appeared
rather feeble, saying that he had never known so cold
a spring. He spoke of Mr. Quincy's popularity in
Boston. I said, * It is not to be depended upon/
1 No,' said Mr. Adams, ■ it is not. In 1769, when
Colonel Quincy, his grandfather, was a member from
Braintree of a Convention of the Province, he made
several speeches, and in one of them he said, " When
I was a young man I courted Popularity. I found
her but a coy mistress, and I soon deserted her/'
Now I am quite of his opinion. Madame Popularity
is as whimsical as a girl in her teens.' He talked of
the ' Pioneers,' by Cooper, and said it had merit as
a description of the country, but had the usual ten-
dency of all the Middle and Southern States to de-
preciate New England. ' Our ancestors, the Puritans/
continued Mr. Adams, ' were a most unpopular set of
men ; yet the world owes all the liberty it possesses
to them. Mr. Hume acknowledges that this is so.
The world owes more to the Puritans than to any
other sect.'"
During 1825 Gilbert Stuart, the famous artist, came
to Quincy to paint the portrait of John Adams, then
TALKS WITH JOHN ADAMS. 83
in his eighty-ninth year. And this portrait is a re-
markable work; for a faithful representation of the
extreme age of the subject would have been painful
in inferior hands. But Stuart caught a glimpse of
the living spirit shining through the feeble and de-
crepit body. He saw the old man at one of those
happy moments when the intelligence lights up its
wasted envelope, and what he saw he fixed upon
his canvas. And the secret of the artist's success
was revealed in a remark which Mr. Adams made
to me, while the sittings were in progress. " Speak-
ing generally/' said he, " no penance is like having
one's picture done. You must sit in a constrained
and unnatural position, which is a trial to the tem-
per. But I should like to sit to Stuart from the
first of January to the last of December, for he lets
me do just what I please and keeps me constantly
amused by his conversation." The method of Stuart
is given in these few words. It was his habit to
throw his subject off his guard, and then, by his
wonderful powers of conversation, he would call up
different emotions in the face he was studying. He
chose the best or that which he thought most charac-
teristic, and with the skill of genius used it to ani-
mate the picture.
It may be worth while to mention that I myself
have sat to the artist to whom we are indebted for
the likeness of Washington, and that, as I believe, I
am the only person living who has had that privilege.
The way it happened was rather peculiar, for I did
not sit for my own portrait. Stuart was engaged in
84 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
painting the likeness of a person deceased, who was
connected with the Bevolution and to whom it was
said that I bore some resemblance ; and it was owing
to this circumstance that the sittings came about. He
used certain of my features as parts of the material
from which a likeness was to be evolved. The artist
took snuff constantly, and talked with as much spirit
as if he had some important personage to entertain.
He gave me a very interesting account of his early
struggles in London, and of his being suddenly lifted
into fame by the exhibition of a single picture. I
well remember the dramatic force he threw into his
anecdotes. One of them, I remember, related to an
Irishman who had acquired a castle by a fortunate
speculation, and thereupon sent for Stuart to paint
the portraits of his ancestors. The painter naturally
supposed that there were miniatures or drawings,
whose authority he was to follow ; but, on arriving
at the castle, he was told, to his great surprise, that
nothing of the kind existed. " Then how the deuce
am I going to paint your ancestors, if you have no
ancestors ? " asked Stuart with some temper. " Noth-
ing easier," rejoined the proprietor. " Go to work
and paint such ancestors as I ought to have had."
The artist relished the joke, and, setting to work,
produced a goodly company of knights in armor,
judges in bushy wigs, and high-born ladies with
nosegays and lambs. "And the man was so de-
lighted with ' his ancestors who came after him/ "
remarked Stuart, aptly quoting the saying of Shake-
speare's Slender, " that he paid me twice what he
TALKS WITH JOHN ADAMS. 85
agreed to." Notwithstanding this stroke of fortune,
Stuart complained bitterly of the meagre compensa-
tion received by artists. * I get fair prices for my
pictures," said he ; " but the man who works with
his hands can never become rich. A grocer will
make more by buying a cargo of molasses in a day
than my labor can bring me in a year."
Stuart, it may be said, was naturally improvident,
as so many artists of genius have been. His pictures
now command enormous prices. A few copies of his
Washington, for which he received one hundred dol-
lars, are now said to be worth three thousand dollars
each.
THE OLD PEESIDENT IN PUBLIC.
FIND in my journals notices of the appearance
A of John Adams in public upon two occasions.
The first of these was the Massachusetts Convention
of 1820. The District of Maine, which had long
been part of Massachusetts, wished to set up an
independent government; and this assembly was
convened to make the necessary changes in an in-
strument which President Adams had drafted some
forty years before. It was felt to be the last time
that the venerable statesman would appear in public.
He had been sent as a delegate by his native town,
and the interest excited by his entrance was very
great. He had declined the presidency of the con-
vention, which, as a matter of compliment, was unani-
mously offered him. He was then eighty-six years
old, and too infirm to discharge the duties of this
office. Eepresentative bodies at that time wore their
hats during session, after the manner of the British
Parliament ; but every head was uncovered when
the delegate from Quincy was conducted to a seat
reserved for him on the right of Chief Justice Par-
ker, who, on the refusal of Mr. Adams, had been
chosen to preside. I note in my journal that the
THE OLD PRESIDENT IN PUBLIC. 87
scene recalled a print of the Eoman Senate, with the
two consuls presiding in august dignity. And the
assembly was as remarkable as any convened in the
best days of the ancient republics. It was composed
of men of the very first eminence, the flower of the
State at a time when Massachusetts possessed more
men of distinguished ability than at any other period
in her history.
I heard Mr. Adams speak on one of the few occa-
sions when he ventured to do so. The subject had
to do with universal suffrage, as opposed to a prop-
erty qualification ; and upon this question he took
what would now be thought the wrong side. But the
old gentleman had then, as always, the courage of his
opinions. He gave us a graphic sketch of the hor-
rors of the French Eevolution, which frightened so
many of the best Americans of his generation, and
finished by declaring that when our ancestors made
a pecuniary qualification necessary for office and
necessary for electors, they were supported by the
opinion of all the wise men the world had produced.
This interesting subject was fully debated in the con-
vention ; and it must be confessed that the arguments
in favor of retaining the restriction, which limited
suffrage to those possessing property to the amount
of two hundred dollars, have not been weakened by
subsequent history. It is worth while to do justice
to the champions of this lost cause by saying that
they never for a moment admitted that a small prop-
erty qualification gave the rich an undue weight in
legislation. They asserted, on the contrary, that,
88 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
were rich men to act selfishly and as a class, they
would remove all restrictions. It was the poor man,
who had laboriously earned the two hundred dollars,
who lost his political all when those who had no
stake whatever in the community were admitted to
vote him down. The rich man, by the influence re-
sulting from his property over those who had nothing
to lose and everything to gain from his favor, would
make himself master of the situation. Has not our
later political history in a measure justified these
prophecies ? Of course, there was much said (and it
was well said) in the convention in favor of unlim-
ited suffrage; and there is no use in reopening a
question which has been forever decided. But it
is simply just to John Adams, and to those who
stood with him, that the chief reason of their op-
position should be understood. It was to secure
a genuine representation of the poor against the
usurpations of the rich that they wished to impose
a small pecuniary qualification upon voters. It is
perhaps better that they should have failed, if we,
now realizing the danger that they pointed out, shall
hasten to remove all obstacles which prevent a man
of reasonable industry from acquiring an independent
home. Who can doubt that if those statesmen were
with us to-day, they would tell us that this was the
way to mitigate and finally abolish the evils which
they foresaw ?
The other occasion when I heard President Adams
speak in public was during the visit of the West
Point Cadets. This was an event of considerable
THE OLD PRESIDENT IN PUBLIC. 89
magnitude at the time. The noble corps, numbering
more than two hundred students, had marched all the
way to Boston. Indeed, at that time this was the
only way to come if they came at all. A fine band
accompanied them, and they were treated with marked
hospitality in every town through which they passed.
We cannot wonder at the interest they excited. Here
was a military corps, splendidly equipped and com-
posed of the most promising young men in the coun-
try. The training at West Point was then far superior
to any given at the colleges, and these young gentle-
men were known to be subjected to an intellectual
discipline which was quite as severe as their physical
drill. The selectmen of Boston, attended by a cav-
alcade of citizens, went to meet their visitors at the
boundary of the town. Salutes of artillery were fired
as the Cadets crossed the line, and they were con-
ducted to their camp on the Common with due cere-
mony. These young Hannibals were said to have
found their Capua in the staid j Puritan town. It
may now be admitted that the infatuation about
them was carried to an extreme. A stand of col-
ors, bearing the motto A scientia ad gloriam, was sol-
emnly voted them in town meeting, and presented by
the selectmen with much Mat. Never was heard
such martial music as was produced by their band ;
never were the capabilities of the bugle understood
until the leading musician of the company performed
upon that instrument. Governor Brooks, a capital
judge of tactual merit, declared that their drill was
perfect. Major Worth, their commander, was a very
90 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
handsome man, and seemed to the ladies an ideal sol-
dier, as there can be little doubt that he was. In short,
the Cadets captivated us ; and dinners, public colla-
tions, and entertainments of all sorts only did justice
to our feelings. One day the corps marched to Cam-
bridge, where the authorities of the college provided
them with a banquet in Commons Hall. On an-
other occasion they went to Bunker Hill, and Major
Worth's marquee was pitched on the angle of the
redoubt thrown up during the night previous to the
famous battle. A visit to the venerated statesman
of Quincy was, of course, included in the programme-
The occasion was one of great interest, and I find an
account of it in my journal ; but the reader will
thank me for suppressing my own narrative, and
supplying its place with an extract from the diary of
my sister, who was present at the scene, and which I
am allowed the privilege of copying.
"August 14, 1821. — To-day the Cadets visited
President Adams, and we passed them on the road to
his residence. Major Worth, who rode a fine horse,
recognized and saluted us. Our coachman, seeing the
little fifer of the band running along the road, told
him to get up behind the carriage, which he did ; and
our military footman excited some attention. Mr.
Adams received us with his accustomed kindness.
The Cadets halted at the foot of the hill to refresh
themselves at the brook, after their seven-miles walk
from Boston. They then formed in order and marched
past the house, with their colors flying and the band
playing. They went through their exercises in the
THE OLD PRESIDENT IN PUBLIC. 91
field opposite, and then stacked their arms and marched
into the courtyard. Mr. Adams stood on the piazza,
with the Cadets before him and Major Worth at his
side. The contrast between the venerable old man
and the handsome young officer, in the prime of life,
was very striking. His voice trembled as he began
to speak, but as he proceeded it grew stronger. He
began by saying that, although palsied by age, he
would not deny himself the pleasure of addressing
them. He spoke of real glory, and held up the char-
acter of Washington to the admiration and imitation
of the young men before him. He assured them that
their advantages of education should give them knowl-
edge of much more than military tactics. He made
a very excellent speech. When it was finished, the
Cadets went to a collation arranged under an awning,
at the side of the courtyard. After this, they threw
themselves on the grass under the shade of the horse-
chestnuts, and many of them were so fatigued that,
notwithstanding the loud talking, they fell asleep.
We showed Major Worth the portraits of the Adams
family, in the drawing-room, and also that of General
Warren. The Major combines a polished exterior
with the severity of a rigid disciplinarian ; his men
feel that his slightest word has the force of an irrevo-
cable decree. Mr. Adams took his seat with the
ladies on the piazza, and the new standards presented
by the authorities of the Town of Boston were dis-
played before us. The national flag is painted on a
dark ground, and is never lowered except to the Pres-
ident of the United States. The regimental standard
92 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
is painted on a white ground, with a figure of Mi-
nerva and various appropriate devices. Major Worth,
wishing to exhibit the standards to the best advan-
tage, ordered a Cadet to hold them up. The young
man obeyed, and, thinking he must not move without
orders, continued to stand like a statue long after the
ladies and Mr. Adams had finished their survey. It
was observed, however, that he made out to hold them
so that he could see the ladies over them. Speaking
of the presentation of colors yesterday, Major Worth
said, ' I never felt my courage so severely tried as in
making that speech to the Governor. I had much
rather fight a battle ; but, now the colors are in our
hands, they shall never leave them.' He then made
an unsuccessful attempt to induce Moniac, the Indian
Cadet, to be introduced to Mr. Adams and the ladies.
At last he gave this up, saying, ' He is too bashful.'
He added : ' I have myself been taken for the Indian
all along the road. People would point to me and
say, ■ Look there ! there 's the Indian ! ' The stand-
ards were now crossed in front of the piazza, and
the band under the chestnut-tree played charmingly ?
giving us ' Adams and Liberty,' and other patriotic
airs. Mr. Adams beat time to the music, and seemed
as much delighted as any one. The Cadets were then
drawn up and introduced to Mr. Adams by the officers
of their respective companies. They passed over the
piazza one by one, and Mr. Adams shook hands with
each of them. It was very interesting to watch the
varied expressions of their countenances. When they
took leave, Mr. Adams put into the hands of Major
THE OLD PRESIDENT IN PUBLIC. 93
Worth a copy of his address, in his own handwriting,
for which the Major said a cabinet should be made
at West Point. The Cadets returned to the field op-
posite, where they had stacked their arms, and went
through various military movements before they
marched off. They were to proceed to Milton, where
an entertainment was to be given them by Mr. B.
Smith, in the old mansion of Governor Hutchinson.
It was altogether a most interesting occasion. Presi-
dent Adams seemed highly gratified, and it was de-
lightful to us to see the honors attending his old age."
Of one more act of a public nature performed by
Mr. Adams I find the record. This was the generous
gift of one hundred and sixty acres of land to his
native town, for the purpose of establishing an acad-
emy. The deeds by which this property was con-
veyed were executed at my father's house, and my
name appears as a witness to the documents. At the
time that it was made, this endowment promised to
be of greater value than it has yet turned out. No
property seemed to be of more certain worth than
farming lands near a large and growing centre of pop-
ulation. Who imagined that men then living would
see the time when the food for Boston would be
brought from the distant West; when a ton of prod-
uce could be moved at a cost of eight tenths of a
cent per mile, and a year's subsistence could be car-
ried one thousand miles to the laborer at the price of
his wages for a single day ! Not having these antici-
pations, the townsmen of Mr. Adams could not con-
ceive that a half-century must elapse before a " stone
94 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
school-house " could be built from the profits of the
pastures which had been given for this purpose. It
is only recently that the academy has risen on the
site its founder designated. This was over the cel-
lar of the house in which Governor Hancock was
born ; better known as that John Hancock whose
name, written with such vigorous penmanship, heads
the Declaration of Independence. In the deeds by
which he conveyed this property the President did
not confine himself to those dry technicalities which
make such instruments the dreariest of literature,
but said his mind freely and with characteristic
strength. His old friend, Hancock, is designated as
" that generous, disinterested, bountiful benefactor of
his country." Lemuel Bryant, pastor of the First
Church, is described as " reverend, learned, disinter-
ested, and eloquent." His suggestions to the future
masters of the academy are quaint enough to be
quoted : —
" But I hope the future masters will not think me
too presumptuous if I advise them to begin their
lessons in Greek and Hebrew by compelling their
pupils to take their pens and write, over and over
again, copies of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets,
in all their variety of characters, until they are per-
fect masters of those alphabets and characters. This
will be as good an exercise in chirography as any
they can use, and will stamp those characters and
alphabets upon their tender minds and vigorous
memories so deeply that the impression will never
wear out."
THE OLD PRESIDENT IN PUBLIC. 95
New methods in education have undoubtedly su-
perseded those in vogue in the time of President
Adams ; but the school that he generously founded
is likely to adopt all the modern improvements,
The late Dr. William E. Dimmock — one of the
best teachers our country has produced — was its
first master, and he gave six years of absorbing
labor to the service. His was the important work
of establishing the traditions of the school ; and his
gracious figure stands upon the background of its
past like that of Dr. Arnold at Eugby. His successor
was Dr. William Everett, of whose self-sacrificing
devotion to the academy it is, happily, not yet time
to speak.
In the cemeteries about Boston there are placed
beside many of the monuments iron plates with the
words " Perpetual Care " cast upon them in the most
durable fashion. The Adams Academy — the wor-
thiest monument of the distinguished friend of my
youth — bears no similar inscription. Heaven for-
bid that such a reminder should be necessary for any
citizen of his native town !
"ECLIPSE" AGAINST THE WOELD.
/^\N the 27th of May, 1823, nearly fifty-seven years
^^ ago, there was a great excitement in the city of
New York, for on that day the long-expected race of
" Eclipse against the world " was to be decided on the
race-course on Long Island. It was an amicable con-
test between the North and the South. The New
York votaries of the turf — a much more prominent
interest than at present — had offered to run Eclipse
against any horse that could be produced, for a purse
of $10,000; and the Southern gentlemen had accepted
the challenge. I could obtain no carriage to take me
to the course, as every conveyance in the city was
engaged. Carriages of every description formed an
unbroken line from the ferry to the ground. They
were driven rapidly, and were in very close connec-
tion; so much so that when one of them suddenly
stopped, the poles of at least a dozen carriages broke
through the panels of those preceding them. The
drivers were naturally much enraged at this accident ;
but it seemed a necessary consequence of the crush
and hurry of the day, and nobody could be blamed
for it. The party that I was with, seeing there was
no chance of riding, was compelled to foot it. But
" ECLIPSE " AGAINST THE WORLD. 97
after plodding some way, we had the luck to fall in
with a returning carriage, which we chartered to take
us to the course. On arriving, we found an assembly
which was simply overpowering ; it was estimated that
there were over one hundred thousand persons upon
the ground. The conditions of the race were four-mile
heats, the best two in three ; the course was a mile
in length. A college friend, the late David P. Hall,
had procured for me a ticket for the jockey-box,
which commanded a view of the whole field. There
was great difficulty in clearing the track, until Eclipse
and Sir Henry (the Southern horse) were brought to
the stand. They were both in brave spirits, throwing
their heels high into the air; they soon effected that
scattering of the multitude which all other methods
had failed to accomplish. And now a great disap-
pointment fell, like a wet blanket, on more than half
the spectators. It was suddenly announced that
Purdy, the jockey of Eclipse, had had a difficulty
with his owner and refused to ride. To substitute
another in his place seemed almost like giving up
the contest ; but the man was absolutely stubborn,
and the time had come. Another rider was provided,
and the signal for the start was given. I stood ex-
actly opposite the judges' seat, where the mastering
excitement found its climax. Off went the horses,
every eye straining to follow them. Four times they
dashed by the judges' stand, and every time Sir
Henry was on the lead. The spirits of the Southern-
ers seemed to leap up beyond control, while the de-
pression of the more phlegmatic North set in like a
7
9B FIGURES OF THE PAST.
physical chill. Directly before me sat John Ean-
dolph, the great orator of Virginia; a man to be
noticed more particularly in a succeeding paper.
Apart from his intense sectional pride, he had per-
sonal reasons to rejoice at the turn things were tak-
ing ; for he had bet heavily on the contest, and, it
was said, proposed to sail for Europe upon clearing
enough to pay his expenses. Half an hour elapsed
for the horses to get their wind, and again they were
brought to the stand. But now a circumstance oc-
curred which raised a deafening shout from the par-
tisans of the North. Purdy was to ride. How his
scruples had been overcome did not appear, but there
he stood before us, and was mounting Eclipse. Again,
amidst breathless suspense, the word "Go!" was heard,
and again Sir Henry took the inside track, and kept
the lead for more than two miles and a half. Eclipse
followed close on his heels and, at short intervals,
attempted to pass. At every spurt he made to get
ahead, Eandolph's high-pitched and penetrating voice
was heard each time shriller than before : " You can't
do it, Mr. Purdy ! You can't do it, Mr. Purdy ! You
can't do it, Mr. Purdy ! " But Mr. Purdy did do it.
And as he took the lead what a roar of excitement
went up! Tens of thousands of dollars were in sus-
pense, and although I had not a cent depending, I
lost my breath, and felt as if a sword had passed
through me. Purdy kept the lead and came in a
length or so ahead. The horses had run eight miles,
and the third heat was to decide the day. The con-
fidence on the part of the Southern gentlemen was
" ECLIPSE " AGAINST THE WORLD. 99
abated. The manager of Sir Henry rode up to the
front of our box and, calling to a gentleman, said,
" You must ride the next heat ; there are hundreds
of thousands of Southern money depending on it.
That boy don't know how to ride ; he don't keep his
horse's mouth open ! " The gentleman positively re-
fused, saying that he had not been in the saddle for
months. The manager begged him to come down,
and John Eandolph was summoned to use his elo-
quent persuasions. When the horses were next
brought to the stand, behold the gentleman appeared,
booted and spurred, with a red jacket on his back,
and a jockey cap on his head. On the third heat
Eclipse took the lead and, by dint of constant whip-
ping and spurring, won by a length this closely con-
tested race.
There was never contest more exciting. Sectional
feeling and heavy pecuniary stakes were both in-
volved. The length of time before it was decided,
the change of riders, the varying fortunes, all intensi-
fied the interest. I have seen the great Derby races ;
but they finish almost as soon as they begin, and
were tame enough in comparison to this. Here for
nearly two hours there was no abatement in the
strain. I was unconscious of everything else, and
found, when the race was concluded, that the sun had
actually blistered my cheek without my perceiving
it. The victors were of course exultant, and Purdy,
mounted on Eclipse, was led up to the judges' stand,
the band playing " See the Conquering Hero comes."
The Southerners bore their losses like gentlemen, and
100 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
with a good grace. It was suggested that the com-
- ' £arative chances of Adams and Jackson at the ap-
proaching Presidential election should be tested by a
vote of that gathering. "Ah," said Mr. Randolph,
■ if the question of the Presidency could be settled
by this assembly there would be no opposition ; Mr.
Purdy would go to the White House by acclamation."
I have thus endeavored to describe, from my jour-
nal of that period, the first great contest between the
North and the South, — a contest in which the grand-
fathers of many of my readers were deeply interested.
It seems to have foreshadowed the sterner conflict
that occurred forty years afterwards. The victory
resulted in both cases from the same cause, — the
power of endurance. It was, in the language of the
turf, bottom against speed The North had no braver
men than were found in the Confederate ranks ; it
had no abler generals than Lee and Jackson. It had
only greater resources. Let us hope that, as on the
former occasion, the gentlemen of the South will
acquiesce in a result that neither valor nor skill could
avert, and that, uniting their spirit with the re-
sources and energy of the North, we shall together
advance the virtue, prosperity, and glory of our com-
mon country.
LAFAYETTE IN BOSTON.
' I "'HE visit of General Lafayette to America, nearly
-*- fifty years after the foundation of the nation
which he had so generously assisted, was an event
to which the world's history can furnish no parallel.
The great experiment of self-government was held
to be a triumphant success. Our population and
prosperity had increased beyond all precedent, and
our navy bore our flag over every sea. It was as if
one of the dead heroes of the past, to whom the in-
debtedness of mankind is always acknowledged, were
to be reanimated to receive the gratitude of a living
world. Never was the benefactor of a people awarded
a homage so universal, so spontaneous, so heartfelt,
so intelligent. There are, doubtless, men living, past
their threescore and ten years, who as school-boys
hung upon the outskirts of the crowds which sur-
rounded the hero. But of the grown men who occu-
pied official positions during the visits of Lafayette
to Boston, and were on this account brought into
personal contact with him, I believe that I am the
sole survivor. As aide-de-camp to the Governor of
Massachusetts, I stood at the side of Lafayette on
that memorable occasion when he laid the corner-
102 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
stone of the monument on Bunker Hill ; and when
he left the State I occupied with him the back seat
of the carriage, enjoying his conversation and the
ovations of the towns through which we passed.
The intelligence of the arrival of Lafayette in the
harbor of New York, on the morning of the 15th of
August, 1824, spread through that city with a rapid-
ity which our present methods of electrical commu-
nication could scarcely have increased. Multitudes
poured into the street, in expectation of instantly
beholding him. But, at the request of the city au-
thorities, he landed at Staten Island, and waited at
the house of the Vice-President till arrangements
could be made for his public reception. In a letter
now before me, written to my father from Paris, the
General had said : " While I profoundly feel the
honor intended by the offer of a national ship, I hope
I shall incur no blame by the determination I have
taken to embark, as soon as it is in my power, on
board a private vessel. Whatever port I shall first
attain, I shall with the same eagerness hasten to
Boston, and present its beloved, revered inhabitants
with the homage of my affectionate gratitude and
devoted respect." And he remained true to his in-
tention to "hasten to Boston," notwithstanding the
urgent desire of the New York committee that he
should remain on the island till the 17th, to give
them more time to prepare for his reception. His
words, as reported at the time, were these : " I can-
not remain with you, for I must be in Boston,
that I may visit Cambridge on Commencement Day,
LAFAYETTE IN BOSTON. 103
where I shall meet so many of my old friends. You
know my attachment to you all. I am heartily glad
to see you; but I must immediately visit Boston,
and will return to you again." After a magnificent
reception from the Empire City, Lafayette left for
Boston on the 20 th of August, attended by a nu-
merous civil and military escort. As he proceeded
on his way, the whole country rose to behold and
welcome him. Every town and village through which
he passed was ornamented or illuminated, and every
testimony of gratitude and affection which imagina-
tion could devise was offered to the nation's guest.
On Tuesday, the 24th of August, as an officer
of the Boston Light Infantry, I appeared on the
Common at seven o'clock. About eight we pro-
ceeded to the Neck, to meet the General, who had
spent the night at the seat of Governor Eustis, in
Eoxbury. The military was accompanied by a cav-
alcade of some twelve hundred horsemen. Of these
the carters and woodwharfingers of the city, dressed
in frocks of snowy whiteness, were very conspicu-
ous. They had the effect of mounted priests ; and,
being priests of useful labor, which had built up
the community, they were, no doubt, as honorable
and useful as if they had received ecclesiastical ordi-
nation. At the city line, where we had a good wait,
we were furnished with bread and cheese, at the
expense of the municipality, and (credite posteri ! )
with free punch. The excellent Dr. Miner had not
then arrived upon the scene, and we had no one to
tell us that the provision of this seductive fluid was
104 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
an unwarrantable employment of the city funds.
Had any one proposed to provide free books at the
expense of the taxpayers, there would have been
much indignation. We should have been aghast at
the impudence of such a proposal ; but a few glasses
of punch was another matter. We have changed our
views here in Boston since those good old times, and
changed them much for our advantage.
The first sight we caught of the General, as he
drove up to the line in an open barouche, drawn by
four white horses, awakened an enthusiasm which I
shall not attempt to describe. The remarkable his-
tory of the man, which the events of a stirring half-
century have now obliterated from the general mind,
was then fresh and well known. He had sounded
all the depths and shoals of honor. He had passed
from every enjoyment that wealth and royal favor
could bestow, to poverty and a dungeon. No novel-
ist would dare to imagine the rapid vicissitudes which
had marked his life since he had left America. Here
he had joined our fathers in their glorious contest
for liberty. He had freely given us his money and
his blood. This was an exceptional republic which
he had established. It would spurn the heartless
proverb, and show itself not ungrateful.
We took up the line of march in inverted order,
and, for some reason, it came to pass that I led the
procession, though my military rank did not entitle
me to this distinction. We passed through immense
throngs, with all the noise that bells, cannon, and
human lungs were capable of producing. Every
LAFAYETTE IN BOSTON. 105
countenance fairly beamed with admiration. Every
one wore a Lafayette badge stamped upon blue rib-
bon. Here is mine, fastened upon the page of the
journal which records these events. It is a little
faded, but otherwise is in excellent preservation.
Among the decorations I remember an arch thrown
across Washington Street, inscribed with this stanza,
written by Charles Sprague : —
"Our fathers in glory shall sleep
That gathered with thee to the fight ;
But their sons will eternally keep
The tablet of gratitude bright.
We bow not the neck and we bend not the knee,
But our hearts, Lafayette, we surrender to thee."
The poet here hit upon the right word. It was a
surrender, complete and without conditions. It was
universal ; for the population of Boston was then homo-
geneous and American, and the cultivated classes of
our somewhat stiff and exclusive city led the wild
enthusiasm of the streets. When we reached the
State House, the officers of the militia were presented
to Lafayette; and here I had the honor of begin-
ning such acquaintance with the hero as a young
man, totally obscure, may have with an illustrious
personage of history. The same evening I met him
in private at my father's house, and had the privilege
of listening to his conversation with the older mem-
bers of the family. George Washington Lafayette
accompanied his father, with M. Levasseur, his secre-
tary, and Colonel Colden, of New York. I fear I was
too busy in committing the Latin oration that I was
106 FIGUKES OF THE PAST.
to give the next day to take much note of what was
said. I had been on my feet since sunrise, in the
character of a soldier, and must be prepared to put
on a gown and talk Latin on the morrow in the char-
acter of a scholar ; and so my journal shows that I
did not feel equal to playing the Bos well, as I really
ought to have done. One story told that evening by
Dr. Bowditch, the celebrated mathematician, I am
able to give. He said that, on his way to his office,
whence he intended to view the procession, he was
stopped on Washington Street, which he was about
to cross. The military escort was passing, and he
ascended a flight of steps to wait, in quiet dignity,
till the show had gone by. But this was not to be ;
for the moment he saw Lafayette he declared that
he lost all self-command. He seemed to be literally
out of his senses ; and when he recovered them, it
was to find himself struggling with the crowd at the
side of the barouche and huzzaing with all his might.
Such was the confession of the great Dr. Bowditch.
Those who did not have his weight of brains to keep
them steady need no excuse for yielding to the
excitement of the time.
I have already given some account of the memora-
ble Commencement of Harvard, and of the masters
valedictory, which my classmate, Withington, had gen-
erously relinquished to me on that occasion. I copy
from my journal the entry made at the close of the
succeeding day : —
" August 26, 1824. — Eode to Cambridge, about
nine, to attend the meeting of the Phi Beta Kappa.
LAFAYETTE IN BOSTON. 107
The procession of about two hundred members entered
the church about twelve. Again Lafayette was be-
fore us. The audience was as great as the one which
assembled yesterday. Mr. Ware gave a beautiful
poem, with the necessary allusions to Lafayette; and
then Mr. Everett pronounced an oration which sur-
passed all I had ever heard. When, toward the con-
clusion, he alluded to the noble conduct of our guest
in procuring a ship for his own transportation, at a
time when all America was too poor to offer him a
passage to her shores, the scene was overpowering.
Every man in the assembly was in tears! 1
I believe that this last expression was literally
true. I have heard the great orators of my day at
their best ; but it was never given to any one of
them to lift up an audience as Everett did upon
this occasion. I can conceive of nothing more mag-
nificent in the way of oratory. Many who have
listened to Mr. Everett's polished periods during the
latter part of his life may question the supreme effect
he produced. They will say that he was by nature
a conservative, seldom in sympathy with the heart
of popular feeling, and that there was always a sus-
picion of a chill upon his matchless rhetoric. I can
only say that the words he spoke that day in the
venerable church in Cambridge were as full of fire
as of music. Eobertson, the historian, calls the elo-
quence of Cicero " a splendid conflagration." To
those to whom this term has any meaning, it will
give all that language can suggest of the nature of
the great oratorical triumph of Edward Everett. It
108 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
is just possible that among my readers there may be
found some venerable man who was present upon
that occasion. If so, I confidently appeal to him to
say whether I have exaggerated — whether it is pos-
sible that I could exaggerate — the magnificent power
with which the orator lifted that great assembly.
For such a possible reader I cannot resist quoting
the language of Everett, to bring back the wonderful
scene we witnessed together. Those to whom the
following paragraph is only so many printed words
will, at least, gather from them the historical inter-
est of the occasion which so unsealed the lips of the
most cautious of orators. They may serve to justify
the preservation of those reminiscences of the visit
of Lafayette which I shall hereafter offer.
" Welcome, friend of our fathers, to our shores !
Happy are our eyes that behold those venerable
features ! Enjoy a triumph such as never conqueror
or monarch enjoyed, — the assurance that throughout
America there is not a bosom which does not beat
with joy and gratitude at the sound of your name.
You have already met and saluted, or will soon meet,
the few that remain of the ardent patriots, prudent
counsellors, and brave warriors with whom you were
associated in achieving our liberty. But you have
looked round in vain for the faces of many who
would have lived years of pleasure on a day like
this, with their old companion in arms and brother
in peril. Lincoln and Greene, Knox and Hamil-
ton, are gone ; the heroes of Saratoga and Yorktown
have fallen before the only foe they could not meet.
LAFAYETTE IN BOSTON. 109
Above all, the first of heroes and of men, the friend
of your youth, the more than friend of his country,
rests in the bosom of the soil he redeemed. On the
banks of his Potomac he lies in glory and in peace.
You will revisit the hospitable shades of Mt. Vernon ;
but him whom you venerated as we did you will not
meet at its door. His voice of consolation, which
reached you in the Austrian dungeons, cannot now
break its silence, to bid you welcome to his own roof.
But the grateful children of America will bid you
welcome in his name. Welcome ! thrice welcome to
our shores ! And whithersoever throughout the limits
of the continent your course shall take you, the ear
that hears you shall bless you, the eye that sees you
shall bear witness to you, and every tongue exclaim,
with heartfelt joy, Welcome ! Welcome ! Lafayette ! ,:
The voice of the orator ceased and there was per-
fect silence. It seemed as if it could never be broken.
The lift was altogether too great for immediate ap-
plause. When the response came, at last, it was
something never to be forgotten.
LAFAYETTE AND COLONEL HUGER
TVTOTHING could have been more perfect than
-*■ ^ the weather of that jubilee week when Boston
first welcomed Lafayette. Not a drop of rain de-
scended during the day ; but during the night showers
were abundant, and these laid the dust and covered
the country with verdure. On Sunday it was sup-
posed that the General would attend the Catholic
Church. " Oh, no ! " said he. " Let me go to Brattle
Street Meeting-house and sit in Governor Hancock's
pew. There I used to attend the services of my good
friend, Dr. Cooper, and I should feel strange in any
other place of worship." And there he did go ; and
the clergyman who preached upon that occasion was
the historian of New England, the then Keverend and
afterwards Honorable John G. Palfrey. On the
afternoon of Sunday, in spite of the Massachusetts
statute which made his conduct illegal, the General
drove to Quincy, to dine with the venerable John
Adams. But. out of respect to the day, the four
white horses which drew him about were summarily
cut down to two, and it is worth while to notice
that from the crowds which assembled to see him
pass, in the town of Quincy, there arose no sound
LAFAYETTE AND COLONEL HUGER. Ill
of welcome. I mention this fact as an interest-
ing testimony to the respect for the Sabbath that
was at that time entertained by a very mixed body
of sightseers. Of course, on a week-day no police
would have been strong enough to repress the shout-
ing.
The General was to stop to make a friendly visit
at my father's house in Quincy, and it was an inter-
esting moment when we saw his carriage driven down
the avenue. " I have been at this house before," said
Lafayette, after he had greeted us all with his tender
French cordiality. " I was here during the Eevolu-
tionary War, as the guest of your great-grandfather."
And there happened to be a daughter of his former
host there present, my great-aunt Storer, then in
her ninetieth year. She was much overcome on
again meeting Lafayette, and declared that his pres-
ence took her back among the trials and sufferings
of the Ee volution. During this visit my sister has
noted, in a journal which she has kindly lent me,
that Washington Lafayette talked more than ever
before and appeared to better advantage. His man-
ners were not prepossessing, and he generally moved
about as if depressed by the gigantic shadow cast by
his father. His position was in some respects awk-
ward ; but on this occasion he came out of his shell,
— at least to the ladies of the family. He confessed
to them that he was so affected by the scenes he wit-
nessed and the manner in which his father was received
that he had great difficulty in commanding himself.
His may have been one of those not uncommon
112 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
characters whose extreme sensitiveness conceals itself
under the mask of indifference. He was not popu-
lar ; but the opinion of the time very likely did him
injustice.
On Monday the reception culminated in a grand
militia review, which was finer than anything which
had then taken place in Boston. There were two
hundred tents on the Common, beside a huge marquee,
in which twelve hundred people sat down to dinner.
The crowds which flocked in from the country had
a peculiarity which moved the astonishment of a
gentleman from New York. " Why," said he, " all
these people are of one race, and they behave like
members of one family ; whereas with us a crowd
is an assembly of all the nations upon earth." I
did military duty for thirteen hours, and when at
length allowed to take off my soldier's clothes, at-
tended a brilliant reception given by the General to
the ladies of the city. This was held at the house
forming the corner of Park and Beacon Streets. The
rooms were finely decorated, having, among other
interesting objects, pictures of the first five Presi-
dents, all taken by Stuart. But this brilliant scene
was not to end the day. " After the reception," to
quote from my journal, " I proceeded to Mr. W. H.
Eliot's, where I was an active and efficient manager
(I will not suppress the egotism) to a most delight-
ful ball. One of the rooms was ornamented with the
General's portrait, surrounded by wreaths of flowers.
When the original entered, the dancing ceased at once
and the band broke into a march."
LAFAYETTE AND COLONEL HUGER. 113
And so we Boston people received the guest of
America, on his first visit to our city, fifty-six years
ago. As I shall have something to say of his second
visit, on the memorable fiftieth anniversary of the
Battle of Bunker Hill, I pass over other incidents
to introduce a gallant gentleman, whose name was
intimately associated with that of the hero who had
won our hearts. During his visit Lafayette once
exclaimed, with ardor, in my presence : " There is
one man in America whom, of all others, I long to
meet, — a man whom I saw but for ten minutes, and
this was thirty years ago ; but I saw him under cir-
cumstances which engraved his countenance forever
upon my mind. I count the moments till I can em-
brace my good friend, Colonel Huger, of South Caro-
lina." This gentleman was well known as the hero
of the attempt to rescue Lafayette from the Austrian
prison, where he was held during a miserable cap-
tivity of more than five years. The General seldom
alluded to his prison life. Its details were too shock-
ing to recall. He had been seized for the republican
sentiments he was known to profess, and told that
he should never leave his narrow and filthy dungeon.
He was deprived of the commonest conveniences of
life, and for a long time his family and friends could
get no evidence of his fate. At length, the physician
of the prison made a formal statement to the 'Austrian
Government that the prisoner would die unless he
were allowed to breathe a purer air. The petition
was returned, indorsed with this official reply: "No;
he is not sick enough yet." At length an outcry
8
114 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
of public indignation in Europe and America forced
his keepers to permit Lafayette to take occasional
exercise in a carriage, accompanied by two soldiers.
It was during one of these rides that his rescue
was attempted. Soon after Lafayette returned to
New York, my family received letters from him,
introducing the gentleman he had so longed to
meet.
The position of a young lawyer whose services are
not demanded by numerous clients is rather discourag-
ing. Nevertheless the situation has its advantages,
as I found when it appeared that I was the only
member of the family who could command the leisure
to attend to Colonel Huger. It devolved upon me
to drive this interesting person about the environs of
Boston, and to introduce him to such gentlemen as
he desired to meet. On different occasions we drove
in a chaise (in those days there were no four-wheeled
vehicles for two persons) to Cambridge, Koxbury, and
Charlestown, and visited together Governor Eustis,
Governor Brooks, Commodore Bainbridge, John Ad-
ams, and other personages of distinction. My com-
panion had all that charm of a high-bred Southerner
which wrought such peculiar fascination upon those
inheriting Puritan blood. But, besides this, there
was his romantic association with the attempted
rescue of Lafayette ; and Scott's novels, then in the
full blossom of their popularity, celebrated no hero
whose adventures seemed more chivalrous and thrill-
ing. " I simply considered myself the representative
of the young men of America, and acted accordingly,"
LAFAYETTE AND COLONEL HUGER. 115
said Huger, modestly, when a lady expressed the
feelings of admiration with which he was universally
regarded. But there was no false modesty about the
man, and upon proper occasions he was willing to
tell the story, which every one who met him was
desirous to hear. I not only heard him give the
narrative more than once, but during our drives had
the opportunity of questioning him upon every de-
tail. Moreover, there is a journal before me in which
his words were taken down an hour after they were
uttered. From these sources I shall be able to record,
in a future paper, the story of the attempted rescue
substantially as it came from his own lips.
In easy conversation, one day, at my father's table,
the Colonel told us something of his history subse-
quent to this event. He had married a daughter of
I. Pinkney, Esq., and soon after purchased an estate
on the high hills of Santee, about a hundred miles
from Charleston, where he established his family.
His wife, though very young, brought up in the gay-
est society, and even accustomed to the splendor of
a court (her father had been our minister to Eng-
land), accepted the change with cheerfulness. " And
here," said Huger, " I have resided ever since, occu-
pied in taking care of my farm and in educating a
family of eleven children." He mentioned that the
condition of the slaves in the part of Carolina where
he lived was much less painful and degrading than
od the lowlands by the seaboard. " I am not
wealthy," he said, " and am contemplating a further
remove toward the mountains. The land there is
116 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
cheaper and richer, and I may acquire more prop-
erty to divide among my children." He told us
that his visit to the North was solely to meet La-
fayette ; but, after he had seen him, he felt a desire
to see the New England States, and so had come to
Boston.
Among the houses to which I took Colonel Huger,
none was pleasanter than that of Professor Ticknor.
This gentleman, afterward so well known in the
world of letters, then enjoyed the distinction of hav-
ing seen Europe; and in those days this was a dis-
tinction, almost as great a one as not to have run across
the ocean is now. There seemed to be a cosmopolitan
spaciousness about his very vestibule. He received
company with great ease, and a simple supper was
always served to his evening visitors. Prescott,
Everett, Webster, Hillard, and other noted Bosto-
nians — well mixed with the pick of such strangers
as happened to be in the city — furnished a social
entertainment of the first quality. Politics — at least
American politics — were never mentioned ; but di-
plomacy, travels, literature, and science furnished
inexhaustible topics for conversation. The host was
an admirable narrator, and gave his foreign expe-
riences with such spirit that they would stick in
the memory. In proof of which, there comes to me
a little scene he described at Almack's, the fashion-
able and exclusive ball-room of London. " I was
standing," said Mr. Ticknor, " by Lady Jersey, who
was the patroness of the ball. It was past eleven
o'clock, and the rule had been made that no one
LAFAYETTE AND COLONEL HUGER. 117
should be admitted after that hour. Suddenly there
was a commotion, and word was brought to Lady
Jersey that the Duke of Wellington was below and
desired to enter. " Tell his Grace," said the Lady,
"that I am happy in declining to admit one after
whom no one will presume to apply." The story
showed that British snobbishness to rank and title
was not without its limits, and that a woman who
is ready enough may mix a compliment with a re-
fusal that will dull the force of the blow.
I failed to mention that during Lafayette's first
visit Mr. Ticknor gave him a supper-party, which
was marked by a little ceremony that had quite a
foreign grace about it. A likeness of Lafayette,
engraved upon bright red paper, was found under
the glass by the side of each plate. As the guests
seated themselves at the table, every one, except the
General, took up the picture and pinned it upon some
part of the dress, where it looked like the decoration
of a noble order. This arrangement, if I may trust
the statement of the journal before me, was devised
by M. Wallenstein, a gentleman attached to the
Eussian legation, and whom John Quincy Adams
had pronounced the most intelligent member of the
diplomatic corps he ever met in the United States.
Though very plain in person, Wallenstein had great
personal fascination. I met him frequently about
this time, at my father's house, as well as that of
Mr. Ticknor. To say that he was an object of inter-
est and attention in Boston even while Lafayette
was with us, is to sound his praises to the utmost.
118 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Wallenstein remained some years in this country,
published a translation of the letters of Madame de
Eiedesel, and made hosts of friends. He was after-
ward transferred to a diplomatic station in South
America, where he married a Portuguese lady, and
died in 1845.
HOW COLONEL HUGEK TOLD THE STOEY.
I FULFIL the promise made in my last paper by
giving the story of the attempted rescue of La-
fayette as told by Colonel Huger when dining at my
fathers house in Quincy, October 3, 1825. The re-
port, of course, is not stenographic ; but as it is chiefly
taken from very copious notes made at the time by
my sister, Miss E. S. Quincy, the reader may rely
upon its substantial accuracy.
" When I first saw Lafayette I was a child three
years old. By a singular accident my father's
house, on North Island, South Carolina, was the
first American roof which sheltered him. Late one
night in the year 1776 our family was alarmed by
a loud knocking at the door. Fearing an attack
of the enemy, we barred our windows and refused
admittance. At length we were made to understand
that the applicants were the Marquis de la Fayette
and the Baron de Kalb. They had taken to their
boat, to avoid British cruisers, and had been directed
by some of our servants to my father's house. They
were of course admitted, with every token of wel-
come and hospitality, and, accompanied by my father,
left after a day's delay for Charleston, from whence
120 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
they at once proceeded to the American army. Young
as I then was, the incident made no distinct impres-
sion upon my mind."
After a short pause, Colonel Huger proceeded to
the events that led to his second meeting with La-
fayette.
" The merit of the contrivance to rescue Lafayette
from the Castle at Olmutz belongs not to me, but to
Dr. Bollmann. He was a Hanoverian physician, of
great courage and address, who had been engaged by
friends of Lafayette to discover his prison and at-
tempt his rescue. Bollmann commenced his search
in 1793, but for some time could only learn that the
Eussian Government had given Austria the custody
of this dangerous republican, and that he was proba-
bly somewhere in that country. The next year, after
many ineffectual attempts, he found out that certain
French prisoners had been taken to Olmutz, a strong
fortress in Moravia. Suspecting Lafayette might be
one of them, Bollmann at once repaired to Olmutz,
where he managed to make the acquaintance of the
military surgeon of the fortress. Bepresenting him-
self to be a physician, travelling for improvement, he
inquired one day, as if from idle curiosity, whether
there were any French prisoners in the fortress. 'Oh,
yes,' was the reply ; * and Lafayette is among them.'
Bollmann then mentioned that he had some French
books with him that he would gladly lend this famous
prisoner. He was informed that this would be per-
mitted, provided the books were inspected by the
proper officer. The books were accordingly sent ; but
HOW COLONEL HUGER TOLD THE STORY. 121
in one of them, upon the margins of separate pages,
Bollmann had scrawled words which, when put to-
gether, formed the following sentence : ' If you read
this booh with as much care as that lent your friend at
Magdeburg, you will receive equal satisfaction' The
person referred to had received an account of con-
certed plans for his escape from prison written in
lemon-juice on the blank pages of a book. Lafay-
ette understood the allusion, and, holding the book
to the fire, soon deciphered a request to instruct his
friends how to attempt his rescue. The book was
then returned, and Bollmann, upon examining closely,
found the words ' Hold it to the fire ' written upon
one of its pages. On obeying the direction, he found
that he had been understood. Lafayette informed him
that he was frequently allowed to drive for his health,
and, as he was personally unknown to Bollmann, he
mentioned a signal by which he might be recognized
if they should meet. This was all he could say.
Everything else was left to the courage and ingenuity
of this adventurous doctor. The volume lent and re-
turned was the only communication he ever had with
Lafayette.
* A short time after this," continued Colonel Huger,
" I met Dr. Bollmann at Vienna, where he confided
to me his plans and begged my assistance. I felt it my
duty to give him all the aid in my power. We hired a
post-chaise and a servant ; also two horses, one of them
trained to carry double. We then set off for Olmutz,
a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. Upon our
arrival, we sent the servant and the chaise on to Hoff,
122 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
a post-town twenty-five miles from Olmutz, on the
road we wished to travel. We mounted our horses
apparently to follow him, but in fact to endeavor
to meet Lafayette. Our pistols were not loaded,
and we took no other arms. We had no intention of
taking life to forward our design. It was the hour
when we knew that Lafayette was allowed to ride.
We rode toward the castle ; and, upon n earing the
walls, saw an open carriage, in which was seated a
prisoner in a blue surtout, with an officer beside him
and an armed soldier mounted behind. As we passed,
the prisoner gave the signal agreed upon by raising
his hat and wiping his forehead with his handker-
chief. The feelings excited by this assurance that
the prisoner was indeed Lafayette I can never for-
get. We looked as indifferent as possible, bowed
slightly, and rode on. Presently we turned and fol-
lowed the carriage. When it reached the open coun-
try, Lafayette alighted, on the pretence of taking
exercise. He gradually drew the officer who had him
in charge away from the high road. Suddenly he
grasped the hilt of the officer's sword and drew it.
At that moment we galloped up to his assistance. A
scuffle ensued, the officer was slightly wounded, and
Lafayette's coat was stained with his blood. The
soldier meantime hurried back to the castle, to give
the alarm. An uDluckv incident here occurred. We
had dismounted, and one of our horses, frightened by
the sun gleaming upon the drawn swords, ran away.
The officer now seized Lafayette by the collar and
succeeded in throwing him. The latter exclaimed,
HOW COLONEL HUGER TOLD THE STORY. 123
' He is strangling me ! ' We then attacked the officer,
threw him, and held him down, calling to Lafayette
to mount the only remaining horse and escape. I
said to him, ' Go to Hoff ! ' a direction which Lafay-
ette most unfortunately mistook for the English
phrase ' Go off ! ' If I had only spoken in French,
and said Allez a Hoff, our plan would have succeeded.
Lafayette mounted and rode slowly away ; but im-
mediately returned and declared that he could not
leave us in such a situation. We reminded him that
not a moment was to be lost, and besought him not
to frustrate our design. With great reluctance, he
then galloped slowly away. We then let the officer
escape, and, after much difficulty, I succeeded in
catching our other horse. We mounted and at-
tempted to follow Lafayette. But, unfortunately,
the horse that he had taken was the one we had
trained to carry double. The horse we were com-
pelled to mount soon reared, stumbled, and threw us.
It was impossible for us both to escape. I then in-
sisted that Bollmann should take the horse and follow
Lafayette alone. He declared that he could not leave
me ; but, upon my reminding him that he could be
of great assistance to Lafayette, through his knowl-
edge of the German language, of which I was igno-
rant, he reluctantly decided to go.
" My situation was a forlorn one. In a few moments
the whole country would be in pursuit of us. But I
resolved to lose no chance that remained. I hurried
toward a convent, that appeared upon a neighboring
hill. Soon I heard voices behind me, and took refuge
124 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
in a wood. I hid myself behind a tree, determined
to strike the first horseman to the ground and to
mount his horse. But my pursuers were too numer-
ous. I was instantly surrounded, seized, and carried
to Olmutz."
The characteristic delicacy of Colonel Huger led
him to pass slightly over his sufferings while in
prison. For ten days he was treated with the ut-
most rigor. He was chained to the floor of a small
arched dungeon six feet by eight, from which light
was totally excluded. His request to be allowed to
send the words "I am alive " to his mother was
rudely refused.
Colonel Huger continued his narrative thus : —
" After the rigor of my imprisonment was abated
by a removal from the dark dungeon, I discovered
that Bollmann was in the apartment above me. We
soon contrived to hold some communication, and
from him I first learned the total defeat of our plan.
He had reached Hoff ; but, not finding Lafayette, he
lingered on the frontier till he was arrested and sent
to Olmutz. I have already explained the misunder-
standing of my direction ' Go to Hoff ! ' which frus-
trated our design. Lafayette, thinking that he was
only told to go off, wandered into the village of Za-
gorsdorf, where he was stopped as a suspicious-looking
person, his clothes being stained with blood. We
were all three brought back to Olmutz, and confined
there separately, ignorant of one another's condition.
When our trial came on, a young man who served as
our interpreter became deeply interested in our fate,
HOW COLONEL HUGER TOLD THE STORY. 125
and told our story to Count Metro wsky, an influen-
tial person residing in the neighborhood. Touched
by the conduct and sufferings of two men he had
never seen, this nobleman gave our young interpreter
the command of his purse, and the judges of the tri-
bunal were bribed to such effect that, after an im-
prisonment of eight months, we were released. We
had just cleared the Austrian dominions, when an
order commanding a new trial reached Olmutz from
Vienna. Had we been there to meet it, there can be
no doubt that the result would have been a sentence
of death.
"When I met Lafayette, the other day, in New
York, I had not seen him for thirty years. Deter-
mined that our meeting should have no witnesses, I
went to the house that had been assigned to him,
early in the morning, and was admitted before he left
his chamber. He remained in prison three years
after the event I have related. He was told that we
had been taken and sentenced to execution, but was
not informed of our liberation. For months he daily
expected to see us taken out to be shot."
" While Colonel Huger was speaking," writes the
lady to whom the reader of this narrative is indebted
for its preservation, "the countenances of his little
audience round the table expressed alternate hope
and fear, joy and anxiety. The interest of the most
highly wrought novel was not surpassed 'oj that of
the story, as it fell from the lips of one of the chief
actors, himself the best personification of a real hero
we had ever seen."
126 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Before returning to the city, Colonel Huger amused
the ladies of the family by the account of a play then
very popular at the theatres of New York. It was
called the a Castle of Olmutz," and he figured in it as a
conspicuous character. " But are you not the hero ? "
asked one of his admirers. "Oh no, indeed," was
the reply. " Heroes are always married at the end of
the play, and I am not so fortunate. I am repre-
sented, however, as desperately in love with the
daughter of the governor of the castle, and I am
left in the same unhappy situation at the end of the
play. I have always had a particular aversion to
romantic love-stories, and little thought I should
ever see myself figuring in one of them." 1
1 Since this paper appeared, an account of the attempted rescue
of Lafayette, written by the late Miss Elizabeth Huger, has been
published at Charleston. This pamphlet gives the facts with greater
fulness and with more detail than can any less authoritative state-
ment of them; but there seems to be nothing to correct in the
above report of Colonel Huger's words.
LAFAYETTE ON BUNKER HILL.
ON the 30th of June, fifty-five years ago, Adju-
tant-General Sumner sent me a notice that
Governor Lincoln, of Massachusetts, had appointed me
one of his aids. This was an honor unexpected and
undesired. It was unexpected, because Governor Lin-
coln was a Democrat, while my family were prominent,
and some would have said fanatical, Federalists. It
was undesired, because I was loath to leave my posi-
tion in the Boston Light Infantry ; which, under the
name of the Tigers, was the crack company of the
city. My friends, however, insisted upon my accept-
ance of the appointment ; their argument being that
Lincoln had taken this method of showing that his
administration was not to be partisan, and that this
was a compliment to his opponents of the Federal
party which it would be highly discourteous to decline.
I accordingly accepted the honor with promptness,
and was at once commissioned. My fellow-aids,
whose appointments bore the same date, took time
for consideration. And thus it happened that I, by
far the youngest of the group, became senior aid, and
consequently master of ceremonies during the second
visit of Lafayette to Boston.
:28 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Let me here say a word of the pleasant relations
which for nine years I sustained with Governor Lin-
coln. In our many journeys about the State, — which
were then journeys; not, as in these days, merely
arrivals — he impressed me as a noble man, a kind
friend, and a good officer. I mention him in this lat-
ter capacity because he was our last governor who
appeared in full uniform and reviewed the troops on
horseback. His aids were, of course, mounted also ;
and we took care to have good horses that should not
be shamed by General Sumner's fine animal, " Pea-
cock." And, as the saying is, horses and riders alike
" felt their oats." We galloped past the country mili-
tia, as they appeared before us in review, feeling
probably as important as the staffs of royalty whose
military manoeuvres are now depicted in the illus-
trated papers.
The second visit of Lafayette to Boston took place
during the session of the General Court ; and this, of
course, necessitated a reception by that body. "I
have been informed that the Legislature intend to
receive the tribute of my personal respect," wrote
Lafayette to my father ; thus modestly parrying the
compliment that was tendered him. " In which case
it will seem proper for me to be arrived two days
before the Bunker Hill ceremony. As to what I am
to do, I cannot do better than to refer myself to your
friendly advice ; and shall hastily offer you and fam-
ily my most affectionate, grateful respects." And so,
according to his programme, the General arrived in
time to appear at the State House on the 16th,
LAFAYETTE ON BUNKER HILL. 129
and to make us a graceful and dignified speech, which
his pretty French accent made very touching. He
told us that Bunker Hill had been the pole-star upon
which his eyes had been fixed, and he rejoiced in the
prospect of assisting at "the grand half-secular
jubilee" which was to take place the next day. I
can see him as he then stood before us, looking all
the better for his extended travels. A fine, portly
figure, nearly six feet high, wearing lightly the three-
score and ten years he had nearly completed, showing
no infirmity save the slight lameness incurred in our
defence at the battle of Brandy wine, — such was the
outward person of the General. His face, on nearer
view, showed traces of the sufferings through which
he had passed ; but his brown wig, which set low
upon his forehead, concealed some of the wrinkles
which time writes upon the brow, and made it diffi-
cult to realize that he was the comrade of the bald
and white-headed veterans who came to greet him.
The wig, however, did him yeoman's service. With-
out it he could never have ridden with his hat off
through the continuous receptions and triumphal en-
tries which were accorded him.
We have lately had a surfeit of centennial anni-
versaries; we have come to take them indifferently
and as a matter of course. They seem little more
than conventional compliments to a past with which
no living link connects us. How can I give an idea
of the freshness and feeling with which we celebrated
the fiftieth return of the day when the great battle
of our Eevolution had been fought ? Every circum-
9
130 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
stance seemed to conspire to add dignity and pathos
to the occasion. The day was simply perfect ; as
perfect as if made expressly for the imposing scenes
it was to witness. Never before had so many peo-
ple been packed into the city. " Everything that has
wheels and everything which has legs," in the language
of a stage-driver of the period, (t used them to get to
Boston." My orders were to be at the Subscription
House at nine in the morning. This was the new
name for the mansion at the head of Park Street,
which had recently been opened as a club house, —
the first, I believe, known in New England. The
duty assigned me was to meet the survivors of the
Battle of Bunker Hill, and to introduce them to the
General, — a privilege this never to be forgotten !
I passed along the line of old men, taking the name
of each of them from his lips, and repeating it to
Lafayette. He immediately pronounced the name
after me in tones of the deepest interest, as if that of
a dear personal friend, and then, advancing, grasped
the hand of each veteran with tender cordiality.
There was no crowd of idle witnesses to gaze upon
the scene. I stood the one young man among these
honored heroes. If there were dry eyes in the room,
mine were not among them. It was a scene for an
historical picture, by an artist who could feel its
interest. Thank Heaven, it escaped the conscious
posings and other vulgarities of the modern photo-
graph ! No field or staff officer of the battle survived;
but there was a captain, by the name of Clark, bend-
ing beneath his ninety-five years, who brought colo-
LAFAYETTE ON BUNKER HILL. 131
nial times under King George into contact with the
great republic which had succeeded them. It was
my duty to attach to the breast of each of these sur-
vivors a badge of honor, which was worn during the
day.
The brilliant civil and military procession which
escorted Lafayette and his veterans to Bunker Hill
moved through crowds of spectators, who were over-
flowing with enthusiasm. It seemed as if no spot
where a human foot could plant itself was left un-
occupied. Even the churches along the route had
been opened, and their windows were thronged with
ladies. The contrasted feelings with which Boston
had looked toward the heights of Charlestown fifty
years ago was the theme of every tongue. Then, as
Byron puts it, there were hurryings to and fro, and
gathering tears and tremblings of distress ; now there
was a great nation, which had solved the problem of
self-government and commanded the respect of the
world. I had intended to give the scene upon Bun-
ker Hill from my own notes and recollections ; but I
find in the journal of my sister so excellent a record
of the occasion that I shall presently avail myself of
her kind permission to copy it for my readers.
After laying the corner-stone, Lafayette positively
refused to take the seat which had been prepared for
him under the pavilion devoted to official personages
and distinguished guests. " No," said he ; " I belong
there, among the survivors of the Bevolution, and
there I must sit." And so he took a seat among the
veterans, with no shelter from the rays of a June sun.
132 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
I have already implied that the address by Everett
at Cambridge was a greater display of oratory than
that of Webster at Bunker Hill ; but above the power
of any words there was in the latter case the mag-
nificent presence of the man. As America, in the
patriotic fervors which had not then been chastened,
seemed to tower superior to all other nations, so tow-
ered Webster above all other men. What a figure-
head was there for the Ship of State ! No man, as
Sydney Smith said, could be so great as this man
looked, and now he looked his very greatest. To de-
scribe him, as he stood before us, I must enlist the
poets as reporters : " The front of Jove himself ; an
eye like Mars, to threaten and command/' And
below these there were the " Atlantean shoulders, fit
to bear the weight of mightiest monarchies ; " and, if
so, then also the weight of that mightiest of republics,
which was to throw them into the shade. But there
was one present who awakened a higher sentiment
than Daniel Webster. The occasion was to be con-
secrated by prayer, and the venerable Joseph Thaxter,
the chaplain of Prescott's own regiment, rose to offi-
ciate. Half a century before, this man had stood
upon that very spot, and in the presence of brave
men, for whom that morning sun was to know no
setting, called on Him who can save by many or
by few for aid in the approaching struggle. What
thoughts rilled the minds of the patriots who had lis-
tened to Mr. Thaxter's prayer in this place ! What
wonderful changes surrounded their descendants !
And here was again lifted the feeble voice of the old
LAFAYETTE ON BUNKEE HILL. 133
man to invoke the Unchangeable, to ask the blessing
of Him who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for-
ever. I note this prayer as on the whole the most
impressive circumstance of this memorable day, and
now give the narrative from the young lady's diary.
"Friday, June 17, 1825. — This eventful day was
welcomed by the roaring of cannon, which woke us
at early dawn. The whole city was soon in motion.
Carriages were driving at a tremendous rate; the
troops were assembling on the Common ; and the
streets were thronged by multitudes, hurrying to and
fro. Great apprehensions were yesterday entertained
with regard to the weather ; but every one said, ' It
must be a fair day on the 17th,' and I heard that
an old man in Andover exclaimed, 'The Lord will
not permit it to rain on that day.' The heavens
were never more propitious. The showers of yes-
terday laid the dust and cooled the atmosphere, and
it was indeed the perfection of weather.
"Before going to Charlestown, we arranged the
house for the reception of visitors. The head of
Hamilton Place was one of the best places in the
city from which to view the procession, and we knew
that every window would be in requisition. Two of
my sisters remained home to see the parade and re-
ceive company, and some of our acquaintances arrived
as early as eight o'clock. At half past eight we took
our departure, escorted by my father, who walked be-
side our carriage to the old Hancock House, where we
were to call for Mrs. Lincoln. The Governor's car-
riage was in waiting, and, while my father went up
134 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
to attend Mrs. Lincoln, the Governor came down to
the carriage, to pay his respects to my mother and
exchange congratulations on the beauty of the day.
Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Putnam, and my father then got
into the Governor's carriage and led the way to
Charlestown. On arriving there, we drove to the
house of Mr. Knowles (one of the marshals), where
it had been arranged that the ladies should assemble.
AH the rooms of the house were crowded with com-
pany, and we were received with great kindness and
civility by its mistress. The ladies vied with each
other in the elegance of their dresses, and their variety
afforded us ample entertainment during the hour we
passed there, before we were permitted to secure our
places to hear the oration. We found foreigners and
strangers from all parts of the Union ; among them,
of course, many of our acquaintances, — Mrs. Web-
ster, Miss Sedgwick, Mr. Daniel Wadsworth, and
others. The latter is a gentleman of taste and culti-
vation. He spoke with great enthusiasm of the visit
of Lafayette to this country. ' I was in the carriage
with the General/ said he, ' when he entered Hartford.
Lafayette was describing to me the sufferings he un-
derwent at Olmutz, when we came to a place where
the crowd had collected to welcome him. His de-
scription was rendered inaudible by the cheers which
rent the air. Lafayette bowed to the people, and
then, turning to me, said, with emphasis, " These are,
indeed, the extremes of human life ! ' To which I
replied, " Yes, sir ; hut they a,re extremes which no mor-
tal hut you has heen permitted to hehold" '
LAFAYETTE ON BUNKER HILL. 135
" We remained at Mr. Knowles's until near eleven,
and then walked to Bunker Hill ; my father escorting
Mrs. Lincoln and my mother, and Professor Silliman
Miss Putnam and myself. The stage for the orator
was erected at the foot of the hill, and seats for the
ladies extended in a semicircle on each side, forming
a kind of amphitheatre. Above us, on the side of
the hill, were seats for the soldiers of the Eevolution
and the multitudes who were to come in the proces-
sion. We found ourselves surrounded by an immense
number of women, fashionable and unfashionable,
high and low, rich and poor, all animated by one in-
terest. The breezes came over the hill perfumed by
the new-mown hay, — such as was used to form in-
trenchments on the day of the battle. At length the
report of the cannon announced the approach of the
procession, and soon the infantry appeared on the brow
of the hill. The ceremony of laying the corner-
stone we could not see, as it took place on the other
side of the hill ; but the dirge to the memory of the
dead, borne by the wind in our direction, was very
touching. After an hour had passed, those in the
procession came forward and took their appointed
seats. Just beside us were the survivors of the bat-
tle, — a company of venerable old men, covered with
badges and attended with the greatest respect by the
young soldiers of the present day, whose brilliant uni-
forms and youthful appearance formed a most strik-
ing contrast with the veterans they were supporting.
Opposite were the soldiers of the Eevolution, with
Lafayette in the midst of them. The orator of the
136 FIGUKES OF THE PAST.
day ascended the stage, accompanied by the Governor
and his suite and many strangers of distinction. The
Masons, with their white aprons and blue scarfs and
banners glancing in the sun, were upon the side of
the hill, behind the soldiers of the Eevolution. Next
to them came the military escort and then the count-
less multitude. Perfect silence pervaded this vast
assembly when Mr. Thaxter, the chaplain of Prescott's
regiment, rose to offer prayer. His voice was tremu-
lous with age, as he raised it here again to offer the
thanksgivings of another generation. The effect of
Mr. Pierpont's beautiful hymn, sung by this vast as-
sembly, to the tune of 'Old Hundred/ and accompa-
nied by a full band, is beyond my power of descrip-
tion. In the fourth verse the music died away to
the softest strains, and toward the conclusion swelled
again to notes of solemn grandeur.
" Mr. Webster then came forward, looking like one
worthy to be the orator of such an occasion. Scarcely
had he pronounced a few sentences, when he was
interrupted by the shouts of the throng beyond the
barriers. Their cries sounded wildly in the distance,
and for some moments great apprehensions were felt
that their anxiety to hear Mr. Webster would induce
them to break through all restraint and rush forward
upon the place where the ladies were seated. The
countenances of the gentlemen upon the stage ex-
pressed deep anxiety, and some of the ladies almost
fainted from alarm. We exerted all our influence to
induce those about us to remain quiet. It was an
appalling moment. Some of the crowd had begun to
LAFAYETTE ON BUNKER HILL. 137
climb upon our seats and pull away the awning that
protected us. If the multitude beyond had followed
them, it would have produced a conflict with the
military and a painful scene. The guards, consta-
bles, and marshals in vain endeavored to keep order.
Mr. Webster seemed much agitated, and said, with
an air of deep regret, ' We frustrate our own work.'
Then, by a sudden impulse, he came forward, and with
one of his commanding looks called to the marshals
in a voice of thunder, 'Be silent yourselves, and the
people WILL obey!' The commotion ceased almost
instantly, and Mr. W T ebster again commenced his
oration."
There is no need to speak of a performance which is
conspicuous among the published works of the orator.
At the conclusion of the exercises we repaired to a
pavilion on the summit of the hill, where more than
four thousand guests sat down to dinner. The feed-
ing of this army was as successful as such attempts
usually are. The official personages, among whom I
was placed, were well looked after, and it would be
most ungenerous to cast any reflections upon the con-
tractor, particularly now when no good can come of
them. Patriotic toasts abounded. The sentiment
given by Lafayette is interesting, as embodying the
general confidence of the time, and its lack of appre-
ciation of the slow movements of history : —
" Bunker Hill, and the holy resistance to oppression
which has already enfranchised the American hemi-
sphere. The next half-century jubilee's toast shall
be : To Unfranchised Europe ! "
DANIEL WEBSTEK AT HOME.
HHHEKE was never a more brilliant and interesting
-*- private party given in Boston than the recep-
tion by Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Webster, on the evening
of the memorable 17th of June, 1825. Colonel Israel
Thorndike, the neighbor of Mr. Webster, had caused
a passage to be cut through the brick walls which
separated their houses. This doubled the accommo-
dation for guests, by connecting another handsome
establishment with that of the host of the evening.
Summer Street was as light as day, the houses were
brilliantly illuminated, and a fine band was stationed
a few yards from Mr. Webster's door. The rooms
were filled with strangers from all parts of the coun-
try. I can notice only those few persons with whom
I happened to converse or had special reason to
mark.
First, there were Mr. and Mrs. Webster, who re-
ceived the compliments of the hour with great dig-
nity and simplicity. Of the lady, the journal before
me declares that " she seemed highly to enjoy the
success and distinction of her husband, but showed
not the slightest symptom of vanity or elation." In-
deed, among the most interesting spectacles of the
DANIEL WEBSTER AT HOME. 139
evening was the unassuming serenity of the hosts in
the midst of all the honor and congratulations which
surrounded them. In alluding to the scene of the
morning, Mr. Webster said : " I never desire to behold
again the awful spectacle of so many human faces all
turned toward me. As I looked at them, a strange
idea came into my mind. I thought of what Effie
Deans said, in contemplating her execution, that
there would be ' seas of faces ' looking up at her.
There was, indeed, a sea of faces before me at that
moment."
Colonel Thorndike occupied the somewhat peculiar
position of guest in his own house. He was a fine-
looking person, reputed to be the richest man in New
England, and in this capacity was the object of much
interest and attention. He was a great ship-owner,
and everything he touched seemed to succeed. In
Beverly, his native town, there had grown up a sort
of proverb about him, to the effect that if Thorndike
were to send out a pebble on a shingle it would come
back a dollar. Yet, like all successful men, he had
met reverses ; and I remember once hearing him ex-
claim, with some bitterness, " If I had taken every
ship I owned, brought them into Boston harbor, and
burned them without insurance, I should be worth
$100,000 more than I am now." This gentleman
had married Miss Dana, of Marblehead, — a lady
whom my father considered one of the finest women
he had ever met. I well remember the words in
which he congratulated Colonel Thorndike upon his
engagement : " Let me tell you, sir, that you have
140 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
made the very best bargain you have touched yet ! "
Wealth was quite as attractive in those days as it is
at present, and it was deemed a happy circumstance
that the intellect of the community in one of these
adjoining houses should be backed by its purse in
the other.
Among the interesting strangers with whom I con-
versed at Mr. Webster's party was Dr. S. L. Mitchell,
of New York. He was a man of great learning,
though of some eccentricity, and deserves the column
of the " American Cyclopaedia " which is devoted to
his commemoration. He was then prominently be-
fore the public on account of an appeal which had
been made to him to decide whether a whale was a
fish. So far as I remember the case, some one had
contracted to deliver a large amount of fish oil, and
had offered whale oil in fulfilment of his contract.
This the other parties to the bargain refused to ac-
cept, on the ground that the whale was no fish, but
an animal. How the matter was decided, I have no
recollection ; but Dr. Mitchell had been appealed
to as the best expert to be found. The Doctor ex-
pressed his delight with Boston in no measured
terms. Indeed, he rolled off a quotation from Pope's
" Homer " in praise of the city, which was so very
flattering that I shall not set it down. It did well
enough to introduce a conversation which he made
very agreeable.
Literary celebrity was purchased in those Arcadian
days at a much lower price than is at present set
upon the article. I do not remember much about
DANIEL WEBSTER AT HOME. 141
Mr. Hillhouse's poem, called " Hadad," yet I shall
venture to doubt whether it would make an author
conspicuous if published to-day. Nevertheless, Mr.
Hillhouse, the distinguished American poet, was
pointed out as among the largest lions of the even-
ing. I read very good verses every evening, in the
Boston " Transcript," which would have crowned their
authors with unfading laurels if they had only brought
them to market fifty years earlier. Mr. Hillhouse
was a man of great gentleness and refinement, and
I afterward enjoyed his society as a visitor in our
family circle. On the present occasion, however, I
found more attraction in the person of a lady of his
party. This was a sister of Mrs. Hillhouse (Miss
Lawrence), a reigning belle of New York. With
this lady I had a pleasant chat, and, as a social
philosopher of three-and-twenty, was interested in
comparing the taste of the two cities in the matter
of feminine fascinations. There was another lady
to whom I was presented, — a tall young person, of
about thirty, of pleasing countenance, and wearing
her hair cut short to the head. This was famous
Fanny Wright, who had just returned to America,
with all the glory of having written a book about us.
She was destined to be still better known, at a later
date, as the promulgator of unpopular theories and
as the first of practical Abolitionists. The colony of
emancipated slaves which she established on lands
purchased in Tennessee was one of those failures
which are better than many things which the world
calls successful.
142 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
I do not speak of Lafayette and the survivors of
the Ee volution, who were, of course, at Mr. Webster's
party and were prominent as the real heroes of the
day. Among these survivors was Colonel Putnam,
the son of General Putnam, who was conspicuous at
Bunker Hill. " I was in the American army at the
time of the famous battle," said this gentleman;
u but my father would not allow me to accompany
him to Charlestown. He chose to leave me at Cam-
bridge to guard a Mrs. Inman, a Tory lady, who had
placed herself under his protection." The evening
at Mr. Webster's was a fitting climax to the exciting
festival, and those who had taken part in its cere-
monials had good reason to sleep soundly.
The last evening reception given to Lafayette in
Boston took place on Sunday, at the house of Mr.
K. C. Derby. I have noted that on this occasion
the General was reintroduced to a lady with whom
he had danced a minuet forty-seven years before.
Strange to say, I failed to set down the lady's name,
and I now find it to be gone past recovery. Mr.
Derby's establishment was very stylish and fashion-
able ; and the names of the guests, with such titles
as we were so happy as to possess, were loudly pro-
claimed by a servant as we ascended the stairs. My
sister's journal, which I have found so useful, mentions
that the arrangement of the rooms was different from
any she had seen before. "The principal drawing-
room was large and brilliantly lighted, and opening
from it was a suite of smaller apartments, some lined
with paintings, others hung with silk, and illuminated
DANIEL WEBSTER AT HOME. 143
by shade-lamps and lights in alabaster vases, to pro-
duce the effect of moonlight. These apartments ter-
minated in a boudoir only large enough to hold two
or three people. It was hung with light blue silk
and furnished with sofas and curtains of the same
hue. It also contained an immense mirror, placed
so as to reflect the rest of the rooms.*' This, then,
was the Boston elegance of 1825. Whether such
arrangements would be considered effective at the
present day I am not qualified to say.
Boston's farewell to Lafayette took place at the
theatre ; and here again I will be so considerate as
to throw aside my own journal, and open that of
another sister, not out of her teens, to the accuracy
of whose report I can bear witness. If one cannot
go to the theatre one's self, the next best thing is to
hear the account that a fresh young person will give
of a rarely permitted indulgence of this nature. And
in this way I shall invite my readers to assist at
Boston's final ovation to the nation's guest.
"We all went to the theatre early; but as soon
as we reached our box my brother left us under the
care of the other gentlemen of our party, — as, being
aid to the Governor, he was obliged to go to the
Marlborough Hotel to join his suite. We ladies
seated ourselves in the front of the box, and began
to look around at the decorations of the house. The
pit and lower rows of boxes were already quite full,
and the remaining space was filling up very fast.
From the middle of the ceiling over the pit was sus-
pended an immense gilt eagle, with its wings spread,
144 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
and from this emblem diverged flags and streamers
to all parts of the house. Kound the gallery, in illu-
minated letters, were the names of all the States, and
beneath the boxes those of all the governors. Over
the General's box were the letters G. L. F., of immense
size and appropriately decorated. Two boxes had
been thrown into one for the reception of Lafayette
and his suite. They were lined with green baize and
decorated with flags, evergreens, and artificial flowers.
The play-bills were printed on white satin. Our
box was No. 3, next to the General's, and was also
lined with green baize, out of compliment to the
Mayor. Lafayette being at a public dinner, the play
(' Charles the Second ') began before his arrival. In
the midst of the second scene the Governor and his
aids entered the General's box. Out of compliment
to the Governor, the audience arose and clapped long
and loud. Soon after they had resumed their seats
a loud shout from the crowd outside announced that
General Lafayette was at the door. Presently the
managers (who had received Lafayette at the entrance
of the theatre), preceded by men in costume, bearing
lighted tapers in their hands, came through the lobby,
ushering in their guest. He was followed by the
Mayor, Mr. Lloyd, and several other gentlemen ; but
George Washington Lafayette and M. Levasseur did
not appear, as they were preparing for their depart-
ure. As soon as Lafayette entered the box, every
one rose, and three cheers were given, which were
absolutely deafening. They were accompanied by
clapping of hands, stamping of feet, and beating of
DANIEL WEBSTER AT HOME. 145
canes, while the orchestra burst into 'Lafayette's
March.' The General reached the front of the box,
bowed, laid his hand on his heart, and repeated
several times, ' I am very much obliged to you, gen-
tlemen,' and this caused renewed clapping and vocif-
eration. At last the cry ' Down ! down ! ' re-echoed
through the house ; and when all were reseated the
play went on. Mrs. Henry, who was more beautiful
than ever, was upon the stage when the General en-
tered. The first play was admirably acted. When
it was over, all stood up, as usual, to refresh. La-
fayette shook hands with my mother, and expressed
his pleasure in seeing her so near him. When the
curtain rose again, a new drop-scene appeared. It
represented the tomb of Washington, with divers
emblematical trophies. The effect was very fine.
Mrs. Powell then appeared, attired as the Goddess
of Liberty, and recited a piece of poetry, winding up
with a compliment to Lafayette. She appeared very
well indeed, and was received with thunders of ap-
plause. Then that scene was withdrawn, and a view
of La Grange was shown. This was a great surprise,
and was received with repeated clapping. Lafayette
seemed much pleased, and said it was a good like-
ness of his place. Then Mrs. Williamson, elegantly
dressed, came forward and sang very well a song in
honor of Lafayette. Of course, this was received
with more applause, and the lady retired amid shouts
of satisfaction. The after-piece, 'Simpson & Co.,'
now began. Finn and Mrs. Henry again acted ad-
mirably. I never thought of Finn, but only of
10
146 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Bromley ; and Mrs. Henry looked more bewitching
than I ever saw her. All the actors had new dresses
for the occasion, and everything went off as well as
possible. When the curtain dropped, Lafayette rose ;
and verily I thought the walls would have fallen,
from the noise that ensued. As it was Lafayette's
last appearance in Boston, every bow from him was
received with fresh cheering. At length he turned
from the audience, shook hands for the last time
with the ladies of our party, and declared that he
should expect to see us all in France. Then he left
the box, followed by the whole house; who, meeting
him at the door, gave him loud cheers as he drove
off. We waited some time for the crowd to disperse,
and then walked home. This evening, I think, must
bear the palm, from the novelty and excitement of
the scene."
I cannot suppose that the words I have quoted
will give this scene to the reader as vividly as they
reproduce it to me. The dead and forgotten worthies
of old Boston, full of life and enthusiasm, are again
crowding the theatre. Those who claim to have
taken their places are to me the phantoms.
LAFAYETTE LEAVES MASSACHUSETTS.
ABOUT the year 1845, in going from Boston to
New York, I fell in with a bridal party. The
gentleman introduced himself, and then presented me
to his wife, and to her very pretty sister, who was
travelling in their company. After some chat upon
indifferent subjects, the bride turned to me, with an
air of well-assumed seriousness, and said : " I may as
well tell you, Mr. Quincy, that I have long desired to
make your acquaintance, and determined to do so
when I found you were upon this boat. There is
an event with which you were connected which has
caused much unhappiness in our family. It is in
your power to remove this unhappiness by answer-
ing a single question, ' Did you ever kiss my sister ? ' "
Amazed at this singular inquiry, I could only say
that, without betraying the past, I should be glad,
with the young lady's permission, to qualify myself
to answer the question in the affirmative from that
time forward. "That would not improve things,"
said the bride, roguishly ; " for the fact is that this
pert young thing has always given herself airs be-
cause, when she was four months old, and you were
driving through our town with Lafayette, she was
148 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
lifted up into the carriage and, as she says, kissed by
the General. Now, the old people who remember
the time tell us that this notion of hers is a great
mistake; for they are certain that while Lafayette
was shaking hands with the men on one side of the
barouche, he detailed you to kiss the babies on the
other." I mention this incident as one of those allu-
sions to the visit of Lafayette which, for thirty years
afterward, were testifying to the deep impression it
had made upon our people. In this special case I
did all that I could for the young lady, by declaring
that, while candor compelled me to admit that I had
kissed a goodly number of babies on the 21st of June,
1825, I had not the slightest recollection of her as
being among their number.
On the morning of Lafayette's final departure from
Boston, I was ordered to report myself at Mr. Lloyd's
house, in Somerset Street, at seven o'clock. In com-
pany with my fellow aid, John Brazer Davis, I here
passed a pleasant hour in breakfasting with the Gen-
eral, who was full of conversation. My journal re-
cords that he gave us highly interesting sketches of
his journey through the States, and spoke with great
gratification of his reception by Congress, and of its
generous gift as a recognition of his services in the
Kevolution. "I have but one thing to regret in all
my travels," he said, " and that is the loss of my little
dog, who loved me so much ; " and he gave us a pa-
thetic account of his feelings when the animal was
stolen during the passage up the Ohio. The conver-
sation turned upon Napoleon, and it was evident
LAFAYETTE LEAVES MASSACHUSETTS. 149
that, notwithstanding the good reasons to detest the
man which Lafayette had, he was enough of a French-
man and a soldier to take pride in the military genius
which had led his countrymen to such brilliant victo-
ries. "But the fact is," continued the General, "history
will find it very difficult to get at the real Napoleon ;
for the man deported himself with great care when in
the presence of those whom he had reason to suspect
were writing diaries or memoirs. Posterity will know
what poses he deemed becoming in a figure of his
importance, and but little more." The remark was a
shrewd one, and for fifty years after it was made at
Mr. Lloyd's breakfast-table I was disposed to accept
it as true. We have only just learned that all the
sagacity of the Emperor could not tell him who the
memoir writers were to be. There was a modest little
woman, who waited upon his wife, before whom the
great man did not think it necessary to keep up his
posturing ; and the revelations of Madame de Eemu-
sat have amply avenged any deceptions he may have
fastened upon others.
A little after nine it was announced that the car-
riages were at the door and that the last farewells
must be spoken. "Sir, you have made us love you
too much," said my father, who had come to witness
the departure. " Ah ! but I cannot love you too
much," replied Lafayette, throwing his arms about
him and, after the French custom, saluting him upon
both cheeks. There were three open barouches, each
drawn by four horses, those attached to the General's
carriage being perfectly white animals of noble ap-
150 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
pearance. I rode at the left of Lafayette, and Colonel
Davis had the front seat to himself. The carriages
following us contained George Washington Lafayette
and others of the suite. We were accompanied by
outriders, and for a part of the way, at least, by a de-
tachment of cavalry.
We left the city through throngs of people, which
almost stopped the streets ; and at every town and
every cross-road we were received by new throngs
pressing upon us to salute the guest of the nation.
We made short stops for the babies to be kissed
(by proxy or otherwise), and for the men (those
who could get near the barouche) to take the Gen-
eral by the hand. Our carriage was soon filled
with the flowers that were thrown into it, and there
remained no space available for an additional rose-
bud.
Exciting as all this was, I longed for the vacant
spaces upon our road, for there Lafayette would kindly
answer the inquiries of his young companions and
tell them of the scenes through which he had passed.
He gave us a thrilling account of the mob at Ver-
sailles, on the memorable occasion when, appearing
on the balcony with the Queen, he could only address
them in dumb show, by kneeling and kissing the
royal hand. He spoke with fervor of the beauty of
Marie Antoinette, and seemed to think that this
was no unimportant factor in giving events the turn
they had taken. Speaking of his visit to America,
he declared that nothing struck him more than the
simplicity of life and the absence of accumulated
LAFAYETTE LEAVES MASSACHUSETTS. 151
capital. "What do you think/' said he, "is the
question which these Eevolutionary soldiers, to whom
I am introduced, almost invariably ask me? It is
this : ' What do you do for a living ? ' And some-
times the inquiry comes: 'What was your father's
business ? ' Now, everybody is working for a living
in America, — that is, pursuing some money-getting
trade or profession, — and the people do not under-
stand how it can be otherwise in the older coun-
tries."
Lafayette showed great tact in the little speeches
he was everywhere compelled to make, and often
caused astonishment by the local information that
was interwoven with his remarks. His memory was
wonderfully clear in regard to the incidents of his
own career ; but his knowledge of the position of
affairs in the villages of Massachusetts was not mar-
vellous to those who travelled in his company. As we
were approaching Andover, he said, "Now tell me
all about this place and for what it is remarkable."
As my boyhood had been passed in the town, as a
pupil of the academy, the subject was one upon
which I was thoroughly posted. I gave him several
local incidents, describing especially the Theological
Seminary, where the faith once delivered to the
saints was held in its original purity and from whose
walls many missionaries had gone forth. The Gen-
eral treasured the hints, and in his speech made the
happiest allusion to that sacred hill from which hope
had gone forth to the heathen and light to the utter-
most parts of the earth. On my return through the
152 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
town, I met an old gentleman who, though not con-
nected with the institution, was deeply interested in
its honor and success. " I was really surprised," he
said to me, " at the particular and accurate knowledge
that General Lafayette possessed in regard to our
Theological Seminary. I always knew that in the
religious world it was an object of great concern ; but
I never supposed that in the courts and camps of
Europe so much interest was taken in the condition
and prospects of this institution." I could not find
it in my heart to dispel a delusion which gave so
much innocent pleasure, and so went my way with
the remark that, after the talk I had had with the
General, I was not surprised at the excellence of his
information concerning all that was going forward in
Andover.
There was a story told about Lafayette, during his
visit to Boston, which I am tempted to repeat, though
I do not believe it was true. It was probably one of
those apocryphal anecdotes which give the popular
impressions about public characters in a pointed way.
On being presented to some old soldiers, the Genera]
was heard to ask the leader of the group if he were
married. Upon receiving an answer in the affirma-
tive, Lafayette responded, with most tender empha-
sis, " Ah ! happy man ! " To the person who was
next presented the same question was put ; but here
the reply was, " No, sir ; I am a bachelor." " Oh !
you lucky dog ! " whispered the questioner, with a
roguish twinkle in his eye. These remarks were
overheard by a bystander, who taxed Lafayette with
LAFAYETTE LEAVES MASSACHUSETTS. 153
insincerity in bestowing similar congratulations under
such widely different circumstances. " Is it possible,"
said the General, turning promptly upon his critic,
" that you value the prerogative of humanity so little
as not to know that the felicity of a happy man is a
thousand times better than that of a lucky dog ! "
Certain traits of Lafayette — his way of saying pleas-
ant things to those he met, and his graceful readiness
of reply — are so happily combined in the story that
it deserves to be true, and it may have had some
foundation in fact.
Methuen was the last town in Massachusetts where
we stopped to receive the homage of the people ; and
soon after we reached the State line, where we gave
up our guest to the authorities of New Hampshire.
Lafayette embraced his two companions at parting,
and thanked us over and over again for the attention
which had been shown him. To me his last words
were : " Eemember, we must meet again in France ! "
and, so saying, he kissed me upon both cheeks. " If
Lafayette had kissed me," said an enthusiastic lady
of my acquaintance, " depend upon it, I would never
have washed my face again as long as I lived ! ' The
remark may be taken as fairly marking the point
which the flood-tide of affectionate admiration reached
in those days.
I cannot hope to convey an adequate idea of the
extraordinary spectacles represented during the visit
of our nation's guest. Before us stood the very man
who had crossed the ocean to a land of strangers —
aliens in blood and in language — to share our des-
154 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
perate struggle when we were poor and weak and
oppressed. It was a striking and magnificent event,
one not to be repeated in the world's history. The
shrewd and inexpressive Ndw Englanders were filled
with the exuberant enthusiasm of the Southern races.
They rushed with the wild ardor of children to em-
brace a beloved parent.
Just thirty years after taking leave of Lafayette, I
visited the city of Paris and stood beside his tomb.
He lies by the side of his dearly beloved wife, in the
little cemetery of Picpus. The entrance is through a
chapel of the Nuns of the Holy Sacrament, where two
of the sisters are always prostrate in prayer before
the altar. They are relieved as regularly as sentinels ;
and day and night, through all the turbulent scenes
of modern French history, their service has been
unceasing. Could there be a greater contrast than
between lives so spent and his whose dust they
guard ? The inscription upon the stone which covers
Lafayette is very simple, and no word reveals the fact
that he ever visited America. Surely, this is not the
only memorial of him which should exist in the capi-
tal of France. Among the magnificent monuments of
Paris the absence of one ought to be conspicuous to
every American. Where is the equestrian statue of
Lafayette which our countrymen should have placed
in that city ? Twenty-five years ago I asked myself
this question, and determined to do what I could to
cause the deficiency to be supplied. And an occasion
for initiating the movement soon came. On the 22d
of February, 1856, I was asked to preside at a dinner
LAFAYETTE LEAVES MASSACHUSETTS. 155
of Americans in Eome. Men of large wealth and
social distinction were collected about the table. I
recall Messrs. Beekman and Hamersley, of New
York ; Mr. Corning, of Albany ; Dr. Sharpless, of
Philadelphia ; Mr. George B. Emerson, of Boston ;
and many others. Crawford, the sculptor, Page, the
painter, with men of lesser fame, represented Ameri-
can art. This was just the occasion to introduce the
proposition I had contemplated. The response was
enthusiastic. Gentlemen of large pecuniary responsi-
bility pledged themselves that funds should be forth-
coming. An equestrian statue of Lafayette, by an
American artist, should be placed by Americans in
the city of Paris. An excellent committee was at
once appointed, and I was directed to open a cor-
respondence upon the subject with Mr. Mason, our
minister to France. And here the project was brought
to a sudden end. Mr. Mason wrote that the govern-
ment of Napoleon III. refused to allow such a memo-
rial to be erected in Paris. The despotism of fraud
and sensuality which a band of conspirators had
forced upon France had no sympathy with the pure
and honorable republican.
It was a singularly graceful act in the present
government of France to atone for this refusal by
presenting to the city of New York the statue of
Lafayette, executed by a French artist, which now
stands in Central Park. It would be merely a fitting
acknowledgment of this courtesy for our countrymen
again to ask the privilege (which would now cordially
be given) of placing in the city of Paris a statue of
156
FIGURES OF THE PAST.
him who was the benefactor of two nations. No
public monument can be reared of more significance,
and I cannot better conclude these reminiscences of
Lafayette than by commending it to the attention of
patriotic Americans.
THE DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAK AND
CAPTAIN EYK.
fXN July 26, 1825, the ship "Pallas" entered
^-^ Boston harbor. She brought an extra comple-
ment of thirty officers, a picked crew, and one pas-
senger, the latter being his Koyal Highness, Charles
Bernard, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar. It is not the
easiest thing in the world to live up to such a title as
that ; but in this case the man who bore it was quite
equal to the part, and I do not hesitate to say that
no finer specimens of cultivated European gentlemen
have ever visited America than this royal Duke and
his friend, Captain Eyk, the commander of the " Pal-
las." The two volumes of travels which resulted from
this visit testify to the accurate observation and wide
interests of their author; but his previous history,
added to his distinguished rank, was sufficient to make
Duke Bernard's arrival in Boston a social event in
those days of smaller excitements and less rapid life.
The father of the prince had been the first among
German sovereigns to grant his subjects a free con-
stitution, while our visitor was himself a distin-
guished officer, who had been decorated for heroic
conduct at the battle of Wagram, and had been noted
for conspicuous gallantry upon the bloody field of
158 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Waterloo. The narrative of the part he bore in the
latter gigantic conflict, then so recent, abounds with
those romantic adventures which lend a lasting inter-
est to their hero. He had acted as general of brigade
in the service of the Prince of Orange, entering the
battle with four thousand men, of whom scarcely
more than one fourth survived its terrible slaughter.
During the first day the Duke held his ground reso-
lutely against a force three times as large as his own,
and finally headed a desperate bayonet-charge, to gain
an important position in the possession of the French.
Having won his ground, he resolutely maintained it,
while the supporting wing of the army was driven
back as far as Quatre Bras, a retreat in which
" Brunswick's fated chieftain " met his death. The
next day, after a bivouac in the mud and drenched
by a pelting rain, Bernard rose to the decisive battle.
He was ordered to maintain a village of strategic im-
portance, and through the long day he held his post
by constant fighting and with heavy losses of men.
At four o'clock in the afternoon the result was still
doubtful, when the Prussians under General Bulow
arrived to decide the battle. Some of these new-
comers were sent to the support of Bernard and his
exhausted command ; but now a cruel blunder added
to the horrors of the day, for the Prussians sent to
the aid of the Duke mistook his Nassau troops for
Frenchmen, and advanced upon them with a terrible
fire. The men, spent and exhausted by their pro-
tracted fighting, were for a time demoralized by this
unexpected assault. They abandoned their post and
DUKE OF SAXE- WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 159
fled more than a mile before their brave leader was
able to rally them. Three years after Waterloo the
Duke of Saxe-Weimar entered the service of the
King of the Netherlands, and was appointed military
governor of Eastern Flanders ; and this post he still
occupied when he visited America.
I was constantly with the Duke during his stay in
Boston, meeting him at parties, taking him about the
city in the week and to the King's Chapel on Sun-
day. I have noted the excellent sermon we had from
Henry Ware, from Proverbs xi. 3, and my gratifica-
tion that my companion should hear so favorable a
specimen of a Boston preacher. I make the follow-
ing extract from my journal for August 3d : —
" Drove George Adams to Quincy about noon this
day. At first we went to his grandfather's, where I
was introduced to a very pretty Miss Willis, and
afterward enjoyed half an hour's conversation with
the old President. My father arrived later, bringing
the Duke of Saxe-Weimar and his party. Old Mr.
Adams was in excellent spirits. When Von Tromp,
a descendant of the great Admiral, was introduced
to him, he exclaimed, with the greatest enthusiasm,
1 Huzza for Von Tromp ! God bless Von Tromp ! '
In fact, I hardly ever saw the old gentleman in finer
humor. The Duke, Captain Byk, and several gentle-
men dined with us. Ryk, though a thorough sailor,
is a very well-informed man. He speaks all the
languages of Europe, and seems conversant with the
literature of each. He quoted passages from Milton
and Dante, but without pedantry."
160 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
And this brief notice is all I have given of the day ;
but I have fortunately the privilege of consigning the
reader to the guidance of a journal- writer far more
accomplished than myself. My sister has kindly
permitted me to copy (with some omissions) her ex-
cellent account of the old-fashioned country dinner-
party that was gathered in honor of our European
visitors. Here are the Duke and his friends as seen
through the eyes of a young lady who little dreamed
that this record would ever stray beyond the covers
of her private diary.
"Wednesday, August 3, 1825. — My father told us
that he should bring the Duke of Saxe- Weimar to
dine here to-day, and, after a visit to Mr. Adams,
the party drove up to the door. There is no 'And
will your Highness to some little peer ' in this case ;
for the Duke is considerably above six feet in height,
with a finely developed figure. His face is pleasing
and intelligent, his dress was perfectly plain, and he
wore no orders, but carried superb and massy seals
to his watch. Just behind the Duke there entered a
figure in full uniform, who was introduced to us as
Captain Eyk, of the ship ' Pallas.' He looked like a
true Dutchman, both in face and figure. In addition
to sword and epaulets, he wore two crosses hanging
from two gold coronets, with which they were con-
nected by blue and red ribbons. One was the Cross
of the Legion of Honor, which he afterward told me
was won fighting against the English. Captain Eyk
is apparently forty, with a countenance all good-
humor and animation. A third foreigner was Von
DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 161
Tromp, a descendant of the famous Admiral. He is
a pleasing young man of twenty-one, and has come
out with Captain Ryk to study naval tactics. ' You
must like Mrs. Quincy,' said my father to the Duke,
' for she is half a German.' ' What part of Germany
does her family come from ? ' inquired our visitor.
' Kaub, on the Rhine/ was the reply. • Ah ! I know
Kaub very well. There is a small island there, called
the Pfalz. Have you not a view of it ? There are
some excellent prints.' I produced a drawing from
an engraving, which the Duke pronounced very cor-
rect, and proceeded to name all the adjacent places.
* Here is the spot where the French once built a pon-
toon bridge across the Rhine. They built it in an
incredibly short time.' The Duke then examined
our Chinese drawings of Canton, and, passing to the
hall, he traced upon a map of Canada the route he
intended to take. Some one said that he would not
find comfortable accommodations in American taverns.
1 Oh ! I am a soldier,' was the reply. ' If there is no
bed, I can sleep on the floor ; if no floor, then on the
ground.'
" Meanwhile the rest of the company assembled, —
Dr. Kirkland, Dr. Cooper, Mr. Everett, Mr. Salton-
stall, and George Adams. Every one was brought
up and presented to our guest, who, notwithstanding,
insisted upon looking through a portfolio of drawings
he had taken up, and commenting with great quick-
ness of observation upon the views it contained.
When, at length, he went into the other room, he
called Captain Ryk to take his place, saying, ' There
ll
162 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
are drawings of that young lady's you must look at.'
The Captain obeyed orders, and amused me very much
by his remarks. He was as acute as the Duke, and
then so infinitely odd. Taking up a view of Ching-
ford Church, in pencil, he said : ' I like pencil ; this
is very pretty ; but then you cannot make such fine
works as with India ink. I like that, too, that way,
with gamboge washed over it,' pointing to a view of
Niagara from Black Eock. ' But — Whew ! whew !
What have we here ? ' taking up the likenesses of
two Osage Indians, which I explained to him. ' Fine-
looking fellow ! Good head ! Possible that is his
hair, stuck up so ? But I do not know that it is any
more queer than for us to wear these things of gold
lace on our shoulders. Do you know how to cut
heads out of paper so as to throw a shadow to repre-
sent a drawing ? ' I said I had seen such cuttings,
but could not cut them myself. He then informed
me that this was one of the principal amusements of
the ladies of Germany, and, taking up a piece of white
paper and asking for scissors, he forthwith began to
cut. In a few instants he fashioned, with the greatest
facility, a head, which, being made to throw a shadow,
represented Christ, after some old painting. It was,
indeed, wonderful to see the adroitness with which a
rough sailor performed this work. Upon my admir-
ing it, he said, holding up his hand, ' To be sure, my
hand is more used to handle the marline-spike than
the scissors.' He was then about to tear the head in
two ; but I snatched it from destruction and told him
he must give it to me. My father, who joined us,
DUKE OF SAXE- WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 163
then said, 'We shall keep that head, Captain Ryk,
till you are an admiral, and then we shall show it as
a great treasure/
" At the dinner-table I was seated between the
Duke and Dr. Kirkland. Opposite were Dr. Cooper,
Captain Kyk, and Mr. Everett. The rest of the com-
pany were below. His Highness having inquired the
names of my sisters, I (to be equal in inquisitive ness)
asked the name of his daughter. ' Louisa ; and my
two sons are William and Edward. My daughter is
eight years old ; my eldest son, six ; my Englishman,
as I call him, is two; and I presume I have another
German son now, who must be about a fortnight or
three weeks of age.' He then talked to me of his
voyage. He had stopped on the coast of England,
and visited Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Falmouth.
On the British coast he was in danger from a great
gale. Speaking of his travels two years ago, in Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland, he mentioned that he had
found the former a very dear country. ' The expense
of travelling in England/ he said, ' is really enormous.
You have to pay for everything ; but I saw all their
manufactories, except that of Mr. Watt, at Bolton.
There they would not let me in. At the great houses
you must always pay the servants. Many noblemen,
among them the Duke of Marlborough, actually sup-
port their establishmeuts in this way/ The remark
was overheard by one of the other gentlemen, who
said : ' Then the Duke equals his predecessor. I once
heard that somebody was one day mistaken in the
streets of London for the old Duke of Marlborough.
164 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Wishing to be relieved from the impertinent curiosity
of a crowd who were following him, he suddenly-
turned and threw a handful of silver among the peo-
ple, exclaiming, " Now I hope you are satisfied that
I am not the Duke ! " '
" The Duke of Saxe- Weimar seemed to have a full
understanding of the value of money, and said many
things which showed that his possessions were by no
means equal to his rank. He asked some questions
about Stuart's paintings, and added, ' Is he very
dear ? ' Indeed, the Duke was so simple and unpre-
tending that I should have forgotten his title had I
not been continually reminded of it by calls from the
other end of the table : ' Will your Highness take
this ? ' ' Shall I have the honor of a glass of wine
with your Highness ? ' etc. I was particularly struck
with the manner in which Mr. Everett pronounced
the words. ' Have you visited Italy, Mr. Everett ? '
* Yes, your Highness! It was said with a reverence
of voice and manner which appeared to me, to say
the least, superfluous. I suppose Mr. Everett wished
to show that he was accustomed to the manners of
Europe. Of Captain Eyk the Duke said : • He is a
very clever man. He began as a cabin-boy, and has
raised himself by his talents and bravery. He has
been in many actions. His present situation shows
the esteem in which he is held, for his ship is filled
with young officers, whom he instructs in naval tac-
tics.' In the course of the dinner, Captain Ryk
described his sail through the Straits of Scylla and
Charybdis. He commanded a seventy-four, and passed
DUKE OF SAXE -WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 165
in perfect safety ; ' not even/ he said, ' putting wool
in my ears, like Ulysses, for fear of the sirens.' He
spoke of the Eoman Catholic relics, and described
some he saw in the Cathedral at Milan. Among them
there was a large stone chained to the walL Upon
asking for what it was remarkable, the monk who
acted as showman replied : ' Why, that is a miracu-
lous stone. It fell from the top of the dome without
hurting a single person.' 'I suppose that was because
nobody was in the church,' replied the Captain, ' and
I suppose you have chained it there lest a second
miracle should be performed and it should fly up
again.' ' I see you are a heretic ! ' exclaimed the
monk.
" The Duke had been asking a great many questions
about the Indians, and suddenly inquired whether I
had ever seen any of the skulls of their enemies which
the aborigines preserve. I was somewhat shocked at
this question, and turned the subject of the conversa-
tion ; but the skulls seemed to have taken hold of the
Duke's imagination and were not to be dislodged. He
wished to investigate the matter thoroughly, perhaps
from the fear that the Indians might perform some
of their ceremonies upon himself ; so, calling across
the table to Captain Eyk, he demanded in German
what was the English for schddel. ' Why, skull, skull,'
said the Captain. Thus reassured, the Duke returned
to the inquiry. ' Miss Quincy, have you ever seen
any of the skulls of their enemies which the Indians
drink out of ? ' I replied that I never had, and
hoped they had given up such a horrid practice. ' I
166 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
agree with you/ said Captain Eyk. 'For my own
part, I very much prefer a good clean glass, like this.
A skull is not a very pretty thing. How should you
like to see a row of them round this table ? It would
be quite in the style of Ossian's heroes, to be sure.
You know they always used skulls for drinking-cups ;
but they would not be very pretty nowadays.' Here
the conversation was interrupted by my father, who
called the attention of the company to a toast, — The
King of the Netherlands. This being drunk with
due respect, he was atfout to propose the Grand Duke
of Saxe- Weimar, the father of our guest, when the
son interrupted him, saying, ' With your leave, I
will give the next toast — The President of the United
States and his venerable Father! After this we drank
the health of his Eoyal Highness the Grand Duke
of Saxe- Weimar, and our visitor bowed low to the
company in return for the compliment to his father.
Some Constantia wine was then offered. This had
been brought from the Cape by Major Shaw, in the
year 1792. Mr. S. G. Perkins told my father that
this wine was now very valuable, worth in England
several guineas a bottle, and that he must never pro-
duce it except for some very distinguished guest, such
as the President of the United States. Mr. Everett
now leaned forward and said, 'I beg leave to pro-
pose a toast, — The Health of the Duchess Ida! This
was accordingly drunk in Constantia, and it was a
good notion of Mr. Everett to give the lady in the
first glass of sweet wine. Unfortunately, however,
the Duke made a mistake as to the author of the
DUKE OF SAXE- WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 167
compliment; for, leaning forward, he bowed to Mr.
Shepherd, who sat on our side of the table, opposite
to Mr. Everett, and said, ' I hope the Duchess will
thank you, when you visit us at Ghent, next year.'
The blunder was unfortunate, but there seemed no
way of rectifying it. My father then gave : The
Ladies of Rotterdam. 'Ah!' said Captain Eyk, in
an undertone, 'Von Tromp is at the bottom of that,
I know. He has left his heart in Eotterdain.' The
Captain then spoke of his own wife with great affec-
tion. * I have a picture of her on board my ship,' he
said, ' and it is generally covered by a curtain ; but
when the storms come and the winds are high I draw
the curtain aside, because it does me good to see her
smile.'
" The conversation turning upon General Washing-
ton, Captain Eyk said, 'When I pass Mt. Vernon,
every color on my ship shall be lowered and every
gun fired, and I and my men shall stand with our
hats off.' The Duke then told several long stories
about the proceedings of the Catholics and the
way in which their plans had been defeated. At
some of them he laughed, and was joined by the
company; but he spoke so fast and in such im-
perfect English that I did not hear them distinctly
enough to report. When we went into the drawing-
room, the Duke seated himself before the piano.
Mr. Everett, who followed us, seemed amused at his
position ; but, preserving all veneration of tone and
manner, said, 'Ladies, cannot you prevail upon his
Highness to favor us with a tune ? ' But our guest
168 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
did not perform upon any instrument ; and, after some
talk about music and French masters, he went into
the library. Captain Ryk, then being asked by my
youngest sister to cut out something for her, took
paper and scissors and produced two beautiful little
flowers, a rose and a hyacinth. They were exqui-
sitely fashioned, the leaves being arranged with the
greatest taste. He laughed and talked all the time
he was at work, and said, when he had finished,
* Now, you must not show these flowers to any of
my men, or all my discipline would be at an end.'
On his return from the library, the Duke expressed
a wish to attend a family celebration, which would
take place in 1833. ' That will be in eight years,'
said he, ' and one of my sons will then be old enough
to go to college ; so I will send him to Harvard.' My
mother asked if he did not intend to have his son
educated at Jena, and spoke of Weimar as the Athens
of Germany. 'As for Weimar,' replied the Duke,
* almost all the literary men who once made it famous
are dead, and to Jena I would never send a son.
No, I had rather give him a pistol and put him in
the midst of a battle than send him to that univer-
sity. In battle he might have some chance of escape,
or at least die honorably ; in Jena he would be sure
to be ruined. The fashions of the place are to rebel
against the government and to fight duels.' The
Duke's account corresponded exactly with what Mr.
Ticknor had told me of the German universities, and
I liked him for speaking so openly of the faults of
his country.
DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 169
" At length, after all the other gentlemen had de-
parted, the carriage drove to the door. Captain Byk
was in high spirits, laughing and talking with the
girls and even beginning to sing, when the Duke
said to him in German that it was time to go. The
instantaneous change in his manner was very strik-
ing. All his drollery vanished, as he raised his hand
to his head and made a military sign of obedience.
Both gentlemen then shook hands very cordially with
us all, the Captain saying that he should come and
see us again before leaving Boston. I have been so
taken up with the foreigners that I have said noth-
ing of Dr. Cooper, the President of Columbia College,
who is a learned and remarkable man. He has a very
singular head, but is short and has the appearance of
a man who has spent his life among books. Though
his dress is neglected, there is much dignity in his
manner, and [the Duke paid him marked attention
whenever he spoke. I should like to see him again,
when we are more at leisure."
I have before me the account of another long
summer afternoon which Captain Eyk passed with
us at Quincy, on which occasion he played upon the
guitar, with the skill of a troubadour ; but this I am
compelled to omit, together with a notice of the re-
ception and dance he gave on board the " Pallas/' in
acknowledgment of the civilities he had received in
Boston. I have come upon some letters from the
Duke and Captain Ryk,|the former writing in French
and the latter in English, in which he stumbles so
prettily that I must copy the story of the dog " Bos-
170 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ton " (a noble animal, given to the Captain as a me-
morial of his visit) just as his master tells it. The
letter was written about a year after his visit, and
the " young similar dog " has done duty as a house-
hold phrase ever since.
" I have had the misfortune to lose my poor New-
foundland dog, my poor ' Boston.' One of my ser-
vants played with him imprudently with the stop of
a glass decanter. The dog swallowed it. The ser-
vant dared not give me information thereof, and a
few days afterward my poor ' Boston ' died. I cannot
tell you how deeply I feel the loss of that faithful
animal. He was so beloved in my household that
both my wife and children wept at his death, and I
confess that I was very near to do the same. Could
you find me another — a young similar dog ? I will
equally call him ' Boston/ The former, stuffed, I be-
lieve you call it (empaillS, says the Frenchman), still
lays in my cabin, and shall remain there till a living
one shall come in his place. I hope you will be able
to read this letter. I am always at a loss when I
write English ; but, should my expressions fail, you
may be sure the meanings are good and my heart
beats warmly for you and your countrymen. God
bless them all."
An extract from yet another letter, dated September
1, 1839, shall give us a last glimpse of good Captain
,,Eyk:-
"I am now admiral. My breast is covered with
crosses ; but my heart is the same as when I lived
among my Boston friends, and whenever we meet
DUKE OF SAXE-WEIMAK AND CAPTAIN RYK. 171
again they will find the shaking of the hand will
be equally heartily 'as it was fourteen years ago,
and that no badges of honor outside have made a
change in my old-fashioned, plain Dutch heart. My
new situation as governor-general of the Dutch West
India Colonies gives me so much occupation that I
have little time to write to my friends. Our good
king (a king that even a stern republican might love
and admire) has placed great confidence in me, and I
must make myself worthy of it. When you have
time, do write to me about my Boston friends. I have
not forgotten any of them, nor the town ; not even
the beautiful trees on the Common."
The volume of my journal marked " 1855 " gives a
parting look at the Duke of Sax e- Weimar. It is
Sunday, the 15th of July, of the year just named;
and at the close of the day I devote some pages to a
description of its occurrences. Mr. August Belmont,
our minister to the Hague, where I was then staying j
called for me in the afternoon, and, in company with
Mr. Tyson, of Pennsylvania, we drove in a New York
trotting-wagon (at which the sober Dutchmen stared)
to a fine sea-beach in the neighborhood. There we
found a hotel, a band playing, and groups of well-
dressed people regaling themselves at little tables or
walking upon the sands. " All the foreign ministers
are here this afternoon," said Mr. Belmont, " and there
are many of the nobility of Holland." A gentle rip-
ple of sensation ran through the company as a lady
and gentleman descended from a carriage and walked
upon the sands. " There is the Queen, and the old
172 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
gentleman with her is the Duke of Saxe- Weimar,"
said one of my companions. I gazed intently upon
the features of an elderly man, slightly lame and
nearly blind, and could find little in common with
those of the handsome officer in the prime of life
whom we had feted thirty years before. It has been
said that a man will differ from his former self more
than many men of the same age differ from one
another. So far as the physical organization goes, this
is probably true, and a feeling of overwhelming sad-
ness oppressed me as the tall shadow passed across
the beach. As etiquette prevented any approach to
the Duke while in attendance upon the Queen, I had
time to recall the old associations before meeting him
in the evening ; for that evening we did meet, and
what a talk we had ! The Duke was, after all, the
frank and simple gentleman with whom I had strolled
about an old Boston, guiltless of a foreign element, of
railroads, and of transcendentalism. He gave me a
rapid sketch of his subsequent life. He had 'passed
many years in the East Indies, as commander of the
Dutch forces, and had now come to end his days with
his daughter, who had married a brother of the king-
He told me that our good friend Admiral Eyk had
died the year before, and that Von Tromp was at the
head of the navy yard at Amsterdam. His remem-
brances of America were very vivid, and he asked
with great interest concerning the subsequent histo-
ries of the friends he had made in Boston. We had
met in the fashionable club-house of " The Hague,"
and upon this neutral ground our intercourse was
DUKE OF S AXE-WEIMAR AND CAPTAIN RYK. 173
easier than would have been possible under other
circumstances. In fact, we talked till late into the
night. The Duke called upon me before breakfast
the next morning ; but I missed him and we never
met again. The painful impression of the infirm man
is happily blurred in my memory ; and when the Duke
of Saxe- Weimar is mentioned I see only the symmet-
rical figure of the young hero who was our guest in
1825.
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET.
["F Governor Long, of Massachusetts, should visit
-*■ Nantucket some summer day (as he is very likely
to do), the circumstance would create no special stir
in a community where life is even now a little
monotonous. He might leave Boston in the morn-
ing, pass a few hours on the island, and return to a
late dinner. The inhabitants would pursue their
usual vocations, totally unaware that anything re-
markable had taken place. It was far otherwise in
the autumn of 1825, when Governor Lincoln made
his memorable visit to their island. No governor of
Massachusetts had ever trodden the shores of Nan-
tucket, and the impression of the executive boot
upon its sands excited the same sort of interest as
the print of an unclad foot awakened in the breast
of De Foe's immortal islander.
Surely it was time for a well-disposed governor to
brave the fatigues and perils of the journey, in order
to show himself in one of the most prosperous coun-
ties under his sway ; for at that time the island con-
tained eight thousand inhabitants, and did a greater
amount of business in respect to its population than
any county in the State, with the single exception of
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET. 175
Suffolk. And so Governor Lincoln resolved to break
the spell which had held the long line of his prede-
cessors from their thriving province ; and, accordingly,
his aides-de-camp, John Brazer Davis and myself,
were commanded to hold ourselves in readiness to
accompany the expedition. We were ordered to ap-
pear without uniforms, an unheard-of omission when
in attendance upon the commander-in-chief; but Lin-
coln saw that any military reception or civil parade
could not be expected in a community in which the
Quakers or Friends were the predominating power,
and that, with their well-known views respecting the
legitimacy of war, an exhibition of the trappings even
of holiday colonels would be out of taste. I feel sure
that our good chief must have come to these con-
clusions with some reluctance. Personally he would
have liked the entry upon horseback and in full uni-
form that was then customary for a governor. He
rode well, and carried off the epaulets, gold lace, and
plume with easy dignity, as the decent proprieties of
his position. And this excellent Democrat lived to
see a successor from the opposing party who declined
to honor public occasions with the modest decoration
of a shirt-collar. The tendency to cut away all
graceful fringes and ornaments from our rulers is too
strong to be resisted; but I doubt whether official
position has gained in purity by discarding all its
innocent symbolism.
On Tuesday, September 5th, at eleven o'clock in
the forenoon, the Governor entered the Plymouth
stage, and, with Hezekiah Barnard, Treasurer of the
176 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Commonwealth, and Aaron Hill, Postmaster of Bos-
ton, occupied the back seat, which, as the place of
honor, had been reserved for these dignitaries. The
middle and front seats were then filled by Miss Abby
Hedge, three young ladies whose names I have not
preserved, Colonel Davis, and myself. A merry six-
hours' ride we had of it, — we young people, at least.
My journal tells how bright and lively was Miss
Hedge, who was quite a match for a couple of colo-
nels in readiness of apprehension, and who, when the
fire of fun and repartee began to slacken, produced
just the stimulant required in the form of a package
of peppermints. This animated young lady afterward
married a gentleman quite equal to herself in humor
and good social qualities. The name of Charles H.
Warren (better known as Judge Warren) could never
be mentioned by his contemporaries without a smile
of obligation. It has been my fortune to preside at
several public dinners, — indeed, I counted up some
thirty of them the other day; and, of all men, it
becomes me to express a sense of the value of his
contributions to the general mirth. " Is Judge War-
ren to be at your dinner ? " was my first question to
the committees who came to offer me the head of the
table. * If he is to be there, and will consent to be
called upon, why then I, or any other King Log, will
do for a president." And quite as important was
the presence of Mrs. Warren (that was to be) to the
enjoyment of the bevy of careless travellers who sat
face to face upon the front seats of that Plymouth
coach. What cared we for the grave discussions of
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET. 177
the Governor, Treasurer, and Postmaster, who were
running the State just behind us ? How soon would
it be possible to complete a canal from Boston har-
bor to the Connecticut Eiver ? Would or would not
the Commissioners report that the scheme was prac-
ticable ? What then of the project of uniting Lakes
Champlain and Memphremagog with our central
stream, and so whitening Massachusetts Bay with
the sails which this magnificent opening of the back
country would necessitate ? These and other ques-
tions quite as momentous were thoroughly discussed
upon the back seat, and the reader might have heard
all about them if the future Mrs. Warren and her fair
companions had only taken passage by some other
coach. In that case it is pretty certain that one of
the colonels would have pulled out his note-book and
appropriated some of the wisdom which his superiors
were dispensing with such liberality.
We had a public reception at Plymouth, for a
governor was in those days an unusual guest even
in places within six hours' staging of the capital.
The principal citizens assembled about our party, and
performed the ceremony of hand-shaking in behalf of
the less honorable multitude who had not yet learned
to demand their full rights in this particular. I have
heard some of our more recent public men confess
that submission to the tactual privileges of their
equal democrats was the bitterest trial of official
position, one of them informing me that he was ac-
customed to devote a day to groaning with poulticed
hand and bandaged arm after receiving the honors of
12
178 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
a reception. Fortunately, the mild flavor of aristoc-
racy still surrounding a governor saved Lincoln from
this infliction, — fortunately, I say; for his Excel-
lency had no time for poulticing, but was compelled
to rise at half past three the morning after the lim-
ited hand-shaking of the reception, in order to undergo
the more general shaking of the stage which bore our
party to Sandwich. A noted resort for sportsmen
was Sandwich in those days, and a famous inn, whose
cook knew how to dress the birds which the guns of
the guests never failed to furnish, added to the repu-
tation of the town. And in this inn Daniel Webster
was staying at the time of our visit, though we missed
him, as he had gone off to shoot plover. The great
man, however, was by no means unmindful of his
duty to the head of the State, and had supplied a
proxy, in the person of his friend, George Blake.
"You must stay behind and see that the Governor
gets the right sort of breakfast after his long ride,"
said Mr. Webster. And so Mr. Blake did stay, and
was eminently successful in providing a meal which,
garnished with his own charming manners, still lives
in my memory as the ideal of all country breakfasts.
After this liberal entertainment we journeyed on to
Falmouth, where we arrived somewhat before noon,
and there, all ready to set sail, we found the Nan-
tucket packet ; and there also we found a head wind,
which positively prohibited the Nantucket packet
from doing anything of the sort. Oh, those head
winds ! What plagues they were to those who were
in a hurry to leave our harbors, and how steam has
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET. 179
lengthened the lives of travellers by sparing them
those dreary waits ! We had risen at a most uncom-
fortable hour, to post on to Falmouth ; and here we
might remain a week, unless the wind condescended
to blow from some quarter that would allow our
vessel to get out of the bay. We accepted this fact
with such philosophy as was available, listening the
while to the prognostications of the skippers and
frequently gazing at the heavens for such hopes or
consolations as they might supply. But we were
not, on this occasion, to be tried beyond our strength ;
for as the sun went down the wind hauled several
points, and we were off. Concerning the passage, I
will only observe that the Nantucket packet, although
it carried the ruler of a sovereign state, could by no
means transform itself into a royal yacht. We were
stowed in narrow bunks, in an indiscriminate and
vulgar manner, and took such repose as we might till
two o'clock in the morning, when a sudden thud,
followed by an unpleasant swashing sound about the
sides of the vessel, brought us to our feet to in-
quire what had happened. " All right ! " said the
skipper. " Just you lie still till morning. We 're
aground on Nantucket Bar. That 's all." Thus ad-
jured, we thought it best to remain below, till a faint
suspicion of dawn struggled into the cabin and gave
us an excuse for coming upon deck. Several whaling
ships, anchored outside the harbor, loomed to gigan-
tic proportions in the gray morning. " There is Yan-
kee perseverance for you ! " exclaimed the Governor.
u Would they believe in Europe that a port which
180 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
annually sends eighty of those whalers to the Pacific
has a harbor which a sloop drawing eight feet of
water cannot enter ? "
Soon after sunrise the tide lighted us over the bar,
and it was not long before two whale-boats were seen
pulling sturdily for the packet. In the stern of one
sat Mr. Barker Burnell, and in the other Mr. Macey,
both leading men, to whom the islanders had dele-
gated the duties of reception. And full of modest
cordiality was our greeting by the occupants of the
boats and by the crowd of citizens who had assem-
bled upon the shore to see the Governor land. There
was no pushing or vulgar staring ; indeed, there was
a certain pervading air of diffidence by no means
characteristic of street assemblies upon the conti-
nent ; but the heartiest good- will beamed from sober
faces when the long spell was broken and the execu-
tive fairly stood upon Nantucket sands.
As there was no house sufficiently capacious to
accommodate our party, it was divided among the
hospitable inhabitants, the Governor and Colonel
Davis being entertained by Mr. Macey, Mr. Hill by
Treasurer Barnard, and the youngest aide-de-camp by
Mr. Burnell. And then came visits to the whale-
ships and the spermaceti works, dinners, and evening
receptions, the latter being graced by the presence of
very pretty young women. Then on Saturday morn-
ing carriages were ordered to take us to Siasconset, —
that is, it will sound better to call them carriages ;
but they were, in fact, springless tip-carts, very like
those used at the present day for the carting of gravel.
THE GOVERNOK AT NANTUCKET. 181
The ancient Eomans, when enjoying a triumph, ap-
pear to have ridden in two-wheeled vehicles, bearing
considerable resemblance to that in which our Massa-
chusetts chieftain passed through the admiring streets
of Nantucket ; but none of these old heroes balanced
himself more deftly in his chariot, took its jolts with
more equanimity, or bowed more graciously to the
populace than did good Governor Lincoln, when un-
dergoing his transportation by tip-cart. There are
some personalities which seem to supply their own
pageantry. Mr. Pickwick is not extinguished even
when tnmdled in a wheelbarrow. The escort, how-
ever (perhaps from having no adequate official dignity
to bear them up), rather wilted before they reached
Siasconset, and found the noble chowder there pre-
pared for their commander-in-chief very acceptable.
The Governor's visit may be said to have reached
its crisis in a solemn reception at the Insurance Office,
whither repaired all the leading citizens, to be pre-
sented to their guest. Many of them were old
whalers, simple and intelligent, yet with that air of
authority which the habit of command, exercised in
difficult situations, is sure to give. Their ruddy
health, strong nerves, and abundant energy made one
suspect that there were some of the finest human
qualities which are not to be tested by the exami-
nations of Harvard College. I was introduced to
several of these men who had never been on the con-
tinent of North America, though they had visited
South America and the Pacific Islands. I have noted
also talking with one Quaker gentleman of sixty, who
182 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
had seen no other horizon than that which bounds
Nantucket. The Friends, being the oldest and most
respectable body of Christians, gave their sombre
color to the town and their thrifty ways to those
holding its purse-strings. For instance, when it was
complained that Nantucket, the greatest depot of sper-
maceti and whale oil in the whole world, was, like-
wise, its darkest corner in the evening, it was replied
that it would be culpably extravagant to consume at
home in street-lanterns oil that had been procured
for exportation. Moreover, the reckless innovator
was invited to impale himself upon one of the horns
of this little dilemma : " Oil was either high, or low.
Now, if it was low, the citizens could not afford to pay
the tax; but if it was high, the town could not afford
to purchase it." After the reception, we all went to
the barber-shop, not to be shaved, but to inspect the
collection of South Sea curiosities of which this func-
tionary was the custodian. And here we lingered
till it was time to prepare for the grand party in
honor of the Governor, which would furnish a bril-
liant conclusion to his visit.
This party was given by Mr. Aaron Mitchell, and
was said to be the finest in all its appointments that
the island had yet known. There was, of course, no
dancing ; but the number of beautiful and lively
young women impressed me as exceeding anything
that could be looked for in a similar gathering upon
the mainland, and filled me with regrets that we were
to sail at daybreak the next morning. My journal
relates how I was expressing my feelings in this par-
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET. 183
ticular to a bright bevy of these girls, when Heze-
kiah Barnard suddenly joined our group and put in
this remark : " Friend, if thou really wishest to tarry
on our island, thou hast only to persuade one of these
young women to put a black cat under a tub, and
surely there will be a head wind to-morrow." This
sailors' superstition, of which I had never heard, was
the cause of much pleasantry. The ladies united in
declaring that there was not a black cat in all Nan-
tucket, they having been smothered under tubs, to
retain husbands and brothers who were bound for the
southern seas. At last Miss Baxter (" the prettiest
girl in the room," says my record) confessed to the
possession of a black kitten. But, then, would this
do ? Surely, a very heavy and mature pussy, per-
haps even two of them, would be required to keep a
governor against his will. Yes ; but then an aide-de-
camp could certainly be kept by a kitten, even if it
were not weaned, and Miss Baxter had only to dis-
miss the Governor from her thoughts and concentrate
them upon his humble attendant, and the charm
would work. I do not know whether young people
talk in this way now, or whether they are as glad as
Miss Baxter and I were to find some topic other than
the weather to ring our simple changes on ; but I
should refrain from personal episodes in this histori-
cal epic, which deals with the august movements of
the Governor. It is well for us chroniclers to re-
member that the ego et rex mens way of telling things
once got poor Cardinal Wolsey into a good deal of
difficulty.
184 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
" Wind dead ahead ! " were the words with which
Mr. Burnell called me, the next morning. " The Gov-
ernor must spend Sunday on the island, and we will
show him a Quaker meeting and Micajah Coffin."
An account of both these objects of interest finds its
place in my journal. At the Friends' Society we sat
for nearly an hour in absolute silence, and this seemed
to me very favorable to reflection and devotional feel-
ing. There was something in the absence of any
human expression in the awful presence of the Maker
which struck me as a more fitting homage than any
words or ceremony could convey. It was only when
two women felt themselves moved by the Spirit to
address the assembly that my feelings underwent a
quick revulsion, and I acknowledged that, for the
majority of Christians at least, a trained and learned
clergy would long be indispensable. After meeting,
the Governor and his staff paid a visit of ceremony
to Micajah Coffin, the oldest and most respected citi-
zen of the island. At a time when the rulings of
etiquette were far more stringent than at present, it
was doubted whether the representative of a sover-
eign state could properly call upon a private person
who had not first waited upon him. Lincoln's de-
cision that this case should be an exception to all
general rules was no less creditable to the magistrate
than gratifying to the islanders ; for good Friend
Coffin, then past ninety, was at times unable to com-
mand his memory, and his friends had not thought it
right to subject him to the excitements of the recep-
tion at the Insurance Office. For twenty-two years
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET. 185
this venerable man had represented Nantucket in the
Massachusetts General Court. In his youth he had
worked at carpentering and gone whaling in a sloop,
bringing home on one occasion two hundred barrels
of sperm oil, which made his owner a rich man.
These latter particulars I learn from Mr. William C.
Folger, of Nantucket, who remembers Mr. Coffin as
" a tall old gentleman, dressed in the style of a past
age." And one thing more Mr. Folger mentions,
of which the significance will presently appear:
" Benjamin Coffin, the father of Micajah, was one of
Nantucket's best schoolmasters for about half a cen-
tury." I had been looking in vain through college
catalogues to explain a singular circumstance which
my journal relates ; but the appearance of Benjamin
Coffin the schoolmaster suggests the true solution of
the difficulty. When this patriarch of Nantucket was
presented to the Governor, it made so little impres-
sion upon him that he instantly forgot the presence
of the chief magistrate ; and yet a moment afterward
he astonished us with one of those strange feats of
memory which show with how tight a grip the mys-
terious nerve-centres, of which we hear so much, hold
what has been committed to them. For, having a
dim consciousness that something out of the common
was expected from him, the venerable man turned
suddenly upon Postmaster Hill, and proceeded to
harangue that very modest gentleman in a set Latin
speech. It was one of those occurrences which might
appear either sad or droll to the bystanders, and I
hope it does not reflect upon the good feelings of the
186 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
party to mention that we found its comic aspect quite
irresistible. There was poor Mr. Hill, overcome with
mortification at being mistaken for the Governor, and
shrinking from fine Latin superlatives, which, under
this erroneous impression, were discharged upon him.
And when the Postmaster, at the conclusion of the
address, felt that he was bound in courtesy to make
some response (which, of course, could not be in the
vernacular), and could hit upon nothing better than
" Oui, Monsieur, je vous remercie" the climax was
reached, and even the Governor was forced to give
audible expression to his sense of the ridiculous.
And thus it was that testimony was given to the
good instruction of Master Benjamin Coffin. The
father had undoubtedly taught his son Latin as a
spoken language, as the custom formerly was. The
lessons were given in the first half of the eighteenth
century, and here am I, in the concluding fifth of the
nineteenth, able to testify to the thoroughness of the
teaching.
Micajah Coffin lived for little more than a year
after the visit of Lincoln. "In his old age," says
Mr. Folger, "he took an interest in visiting the sick
and aiding them in procuring native plants suited to
cure or at least to relieve their various maladies."
I learn, also, that in his rambles about Nantucket,
when he met a face that was unknown to him, he
was accustomed to stop and give this challenge :
" Friend, my name is Micajah Coffin. What is
thine ? " It was the robust assertion of a personality
of which there was no reason to be ashamed, and
THE GOVERNOR AT NANTUCKET. 187
testifies to the reasonableness of the high esteem in
which his character and services were held among
his fellow-islanders.
Early Monday morning we left Nantucket with a
breeze which carried us to New Bedford in six hours.
The Governor's reception in that town, the courtesy
of the selectmen, the magnificent hospitalities of the
Rotches and Rodmans, my space compels me to omit.
One word, however, of the picture presented by the
venerable William Rotch, ninety-three years of age,
standing between his son and his grandson, the elder
gentlemen being in their Quaker dresses and the
youngest in the fashionable costume of the day.
" You will never see a more ideal representation of
extreme age, middle life, and vigorous maturity than
is given by these three handsome and intelligent
men," said Governor Lincoln to me, as we left the
house. Up to this date, at least, his prediction has
been verified.
A JOUKNEY WITH JUDGE STOEY.
TN the beginning of the year 1826, Judge Story in-
-*■ vited me to accompany him to Washington,
whither he was going to discharge his duties upon
the Supreme Bench. My acquaintance with this dis-
tinguished man began when, as an undergraduate, I
dined with him in Salem, during a visit to that town.
As a boy I was fascinated by the brilliancy of his
conversation, and now that I was at the base of the
profession which he adorned I regarded him with
peculiar reverence. I remember my father's graphic
account of the rage of the Federalists when "Joe
Story, that country pettifogger, aged thirty- two," was
made a judge of our highest court. He was a bitter
Democrat in those days, and had written a Fourth of
July oration which was as a red rag to the Federal
bull. It was understood that years and responsibili-
ties had greatly modified his opinions, and I happened
to be present upon an occasion when the Judge al-
luded to this early production in a characteristic way.
We were dining at Professor Ticknor's, and Mr. Web-
ster was of the party. In a pause of the conversa-
tion, Story broke out : " I was looking over some old
papers this morning, and found my Fourth of July
A JOURNEY WITH JUDGE STORY. 189
oration. So I read it through from beginning to
end."
"Well, sir," said Webster, in his deep and im-
pressive bass, " now tell us honestly what you thought
of it."
" I thought the text very pretty, sir," replied the
Judge ; " but I looked in vain for the notes. No au-
thorities were stated in the margin."
The invitation to go to Washington with Judge
Story did not imply any promise of attention after we
arrived in that city, as he was careful to point out
when I received it. " The fact is," said he, " I can do
very little for you there, as we judges take no part in
the society of the place. We dine once a year with
the President, and that is all. On other days we take
our dinner together, and discuss at table the ques-
tions t which are argued before us. We are great
ascetics, and even deny ourselves wine, except in wet
weather." Here the Judge paused, as if thinking that
the act of mortification he had mentioned placed too
severe a tax upon human credulity, and presently
added : " What I say about the wine, sir, gives you
our rule ; but it does sometimes happen that the Chief
Justice will say to me, when the cloth is removed,
1 Brother Story, step to the window and see if it does
not look like rain.' And if I tell him that the sun is
shining brightly, Judge Marshall will sometimes re-
ply, ' All the better ; for our jurisdiction extends
over so large a territory that the doctrine of chances
makes it certain that it must be raining somewhere.'
You know that the Chief was brought up upon Fed-
190 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
eralism and Madeira, and he is not the man to out-
grow his early prejudices."
Before I begin my journey with Judge Story, I
have been asked to say a word of my previous travels.
I had visited Washington in 1807, accompanying
my father, who was a member of Congress. I well
remember the intolerable roads, and the flat-bottomed
boats in which we crossed the Hudson and the Sus-
quehanna, and that, on returning, we took a sloop
between New York and Providence. No wonder that
the statesmen of that day foretold the dissolution of
the Union, from the vast extent of territory it occu-
pied, and the consequent time and expense involved
in assembling representatives. They thought they
had all the data for calculation, and that it required
only moderate powers of reasoning to see the result.
Let us take heed by their example when we are
tempted to characterize as Utopian the co-operative
solution of the difficulties between labor and capital
by which we are at present beset. The dream of no
enthusiast can appear so incredible to us as the
prophecy that, within a life then existing, a represen-
tative from the Pacific Coast might reach Washington
with far less fatigue and expense than was incurred
by the representative from Boston would have seemed
to the gentlemen in powdered hair and pigtails whom
I dimly remember in Washington. The city itself
presented a forlorn appearance. Blocks of houses
had been commenced ; the speculators had failed ;
and unfinished buildings, without doors or windows,
were in every street. I recall all this very distinctly,
A JOURNEY WITH JUDGE STORY. 191
because there was a print of the " Euins of Palmyra "
which I pointed out to my parents, on our way home,
with the exclamation, " Why, there 's a picture of
Washington ! " This innocent blunder was consid-
ered a most felicitous characterization of the general
appearance of the city, and for years after the "Euins
of Palmyra " was used in the family as a convenient
synonym for the capital of the nation.
Nineteen years after, when I made the journey
with Judge Story, stages ran regularly between New
York and Boston. They left the latter city at three
in the morning, and at two o'clock a man was
sent round to the houses of those who were booked
for a passage. His instructions were to knock, pull
the bell, shout, and disturb the neighborhood as much
as possible, in order that the person who was to take
the stage might be up and dressed when it reached
his door. Light sleepers in the vicinity were made
painfully aware when the stage was expected, and were
often afflicted with an hour of uneasy consciousness,
till it had rumbled through the street and taken up
its passenger. In the mean time the inmates of the
stage waited through the dreary hours preceding day-
break, till they could see the faces of their fellow-
travellers and commence that intimate acquaintance
with them which a ride of some days seldom failed
to effect. People who never talked anywhere else
were driven to talk in those old coaches; while a
ready conversationalist, like Judge Story, was stimu-
lated to incessant cerebral discharges. When the sun
at length revealed our fellow-passengers, they turned
192 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
out to be Mr. and Mrs. McCobb, from Maine, who
were escorting to Washington the Misses Cleaves,
two young ladies who, as we were privately informed,
were heiresses, and were to make their ddbut in the
society of the capital.
Besides these, there was Mr. John Knapp, brother-
in-law to Chief Justice Shaw, of Massachusetts. He
was a lawyer, somewhat diminutive in stature, who
was on his way to Washington to argue before the
Supreme Court. He was fully awake to the good
fortune which gave him one of the judges as a fel-
low-traveller, and succeeded in making an agreeable
impression upon us all. My journal mentions a very
funny account he gave of an employment which, in
his earlier days, he had combined with that of legal
adviser. He was held by his neighbors to possess a
very pretty talent for composition, and it came to
pass that he was constantly called upon to write love-
letters of the most confidential and tender character.
He had thought of establishing rates of charges to
correspond with the fire and pathos that was required
in these productions, and might have created a per-
manent business, had the noble profession of the law
failed to support him. " But the worst of it is," said
Mr. Knapp, glancing at the young ladies, "I have
glowed with such fervors on behalf of other people
that I seem to have lost the capacity of feeling on
my own account, and, consequently, have remained a
wretched bachelor to this day." Lest we might con-
sider his success limited to amatory literature, Mr.
Knapp went on to tell us of a sea-captain of his
A JOURNEY WITH JUDGE STORY. 193
acquaintance who engaged him to write his epitaph.
"This was, to be sure, somewhat out of my line,"
said the little lawyer, " and I might have failed with-
out discredit ; but the fact was, I gave my employer
such satisfaction that he actually had my epitaph cut
upon a gravestone, and enjoined it upon his executors
to add nothing but the date when the time came to
set it up."
Judge Story was one of the great talkers at a period
when conversation was considered a sort of second
profession. At dinners, when the time was limited
and other distinguished men were present, he some-
times talked too much; but in the coach he could not
pour himself out too abundantly for the pleasure of his
listeners. He had spent part of the previous summer
in travelling with Daniel Webster, and had added a
fresh stock of observation and anecdote to his abun-
dant repertoire. There was only one thing he did
not talk about, and that was law. As the expressive
phrase goes, he " sunk the shop ; " though this same
"shop" would have been a subject most interesting
to at least two of his companions. A person who
did not know Judge Story might have taken him for
one of those agreeable individuals who are so well in-
formed in all departments that they can be great in
none. If required to find the most learned jurist of
the age in that coach, such a person would have
pitched upon Mr. McCobb or Mr. Knapp. Certainly,
this courteous gentleman, all whose reading seemed
to be poetry and belles-lettres, could not be the man.
It was sarcastically said of Lord Brougham, when he
13
194 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
was Chancellor of England, that, if he only knew a
little law, he would know a little of everything. But
this bitter saying was nothing but an inversion of
the tribute Judge Parsons received from John Lowell,
who declared that Parsons knew more law than any-
body else, and more of everything else than he did
of law. The compliment is so neat that we forgive
its extravagance ; but it is certainly as applicable to
Story as to the elder jurist. I can give no better idea
of the intimate relations developed in the old stage-
coach than by mentioning that before night the Judge
was favoring us with recitations of original poetry.
They were not brief selections either, and were rolled
off with evident confidence in their excellence. Sub-
sequently, Judge Story came to the conclusion that
the Muses were not favorable to his invocations, and
actually bought up and burned all attainable copies
of a poem called the " Power of Solitude," which he
once committed to the press. But a conviction of
sin in this particular had not yet reached our learned
companion. He found occasion to quote Pope's lam-
entation, " How sweet an Ovid was in Murray lost ! "
and evidently thought that the stanza might find an
American application. Cicero, John Quincy Adams,
and other great men never quite accepted the fact
that their abilities and application gave them no
foothold upon Parnassus ; and if Judge Story was at
one time not free from the delusion which afflicted
these his distinguished peers, he was at least mis-
taken in good company. He had the knack of
rhyming with ease, and it was said that he would
A JOURNEY WITH JUDGE STORY. 195
sometimes beguile the hours of tedious argument to
which he was compelled to listen by making his notes
in verse.
As we jogged on, the conversation fell upon novels,
and, this being a subject we could all talk about, it
remained there for a good many miles. After the
tribute to the powers of Scott, which was a matter of
course, Judge Story spoke of Mrs. Eadcliffe in terms
of great admiration, and wished she could have had
some of the weird legends of Marblehead upon which
to display her wealth of lurid imagery. Miss Bur-
ney's " Evelina " he thought very bright and fasci-
nating, while the conversations of Maria Edgeworth
were Nature itself, and yet full of point — the duller
speeches of her characters being simply omitted, as
was proper in a work of art. On a subsequent occa-
sion, I heard him place Jane Austen much above
these writers, and compliment her with a panegyric
quite equal to those bestowed by Scott and Macaulay.
" It is only the nature of their education," said the
Judge, " which puts women at such disadvantages
and keeps up the notion that they are our inferiors in
ability. What would a man be without his profes-
sion or business, which compels him to learn some-
thing new every day ? The best sources of knowledge
are shut off from women, and the surprise is that
they manage to keep so nearly abreast with us as
they do." I think that I am safe in saying that
Judge Story was alone among the prominent men of
that day in the adoption of views respecting women
very similar to those afterward proclaimed by Mr.
196 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Mill. He would not admit that sex or temperament
assigned them an inferior part in the intellectual de-
velopment of the race. It was all a matter of train-
ing. Give them opportunities of physical and mental
education equal to those enjoyed by men, and there
was nothing to disqualify them from attaining an
equal success in any field of mental effort. Whether
his views were drawn from reliable data and have
been sustained by subsequent experience are ques-
tions upon which a writer of reminiscences need not
enter ; but it seems due to all parties to say that
many of the theoretical opinions published by Mr.
Mill were anticipated by Joseph Story.
The first night of our journey was spent at Ashford,
in Connecticut, where we arrived late in the evening ;
and here the bother of the wild-cat currency, as it
was afterward called, was forced upon our attention.
The bills of local banks would not circulate beyond
the town in which they were issued, and when Judge
Story, who had neglected to provide himself with
United States notes, offered the landlord a Salem bill,
in payment for his supper, the man stared at it as if
it had been the wampum of the Indians or the shell-
money of the South Sea Islanders. " This is not
good," said the host, " and I think you must know it."
"I know it is good," retorted the Judge, testily ; "and
I'll tell you how I know it. I made it myself." This
reply, of which the landlord could make nothing,
unless it were the confession of a forger, did not
mend matters ; and it was fortunate that I had pro-
vided myself with some national notes, which ended
A JOURNEY WITH JUDGE STORY. 197
the difficulty. The explanation may have been that
Judge Story, as president of some Salem bank, had
signed the bill in question, though I have not at hand
the means of verifying the fact that he held such an
office. Our present system of currency, which makes
the bills of petty banks good throughout the nation,
and indeed in all civilized countries, is a blessing
which the present generation cannot fully appreciate.
Another day, and we reached New Haven, where
we passed the night. The early hours of Sunday
that we were allowed in this city I spent in visiting
the churches, in attendance upon the Misses Cleaves,
" who, being fresh from boarding-school " (so says my
journal), "are somewhat romantic." May it chance
that either of these fair young creatures (for so they
must be to me) are yet living ? May it happen that
either of them survives to read this narrative of our
journey with the great Judge ? Were they also keep-
ing journals ? It is just possible that the publication
of this paper may bring me some news of their lives
during the fifty-four years since we parted company. 1
1 It resulted in a correspondence with the venerable Mrs. A. C.
Duramer of Hallowell, Maine, the survivor of the sisters men-
tioned in the text. " Little did I think," wrote this lady, " that,
when taking the journey alluded to, which was the first great event
of my life, ' being fresh from boarding-school and somewhat roman-
tic,' I should be reminded of it after a period of fifty-four years by
one of the party who enjoyed the privilege of the friendly inter-
course, the pleasure, and instruction derived from the unlimited
fund of conversation and knowledge possessed by Judge Story.
During the long course of years since that time, each member of
that stage-coach party has been held in pleasant remembrance."
198 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Leaving New Haven at ten in the morning, we
reached Stamford about dark. The day following we
drove into the great city in time for a late dinner. It
seemed quite incredible ! We had left Boston early
Friday morning, had driven all the way, and here we
were, Monday evening, actually dining in New York.
It need not be said that we congratulated ourselves
upon living in the days of rapid communication, and
looked with commiseration upon the condition of our
fathers, who were wont to consume a whole week in
travelling between the cities.
FBOM NEW YOEK TO WASHINGTON.
WHEN Judge Story and his companion reached
their lodgings at Mrs. Frazier's boarding-
house, on the afternoon of the 30th of January, 1826,
they were met by a solemn announcement. New
York had succumbed to the influenza. Everybody
had been, was, or was going to be sick with it. This
mysterious disorder, travelling in the path of the
Asiatic cholera, was now making the tour of America,
some parts of which it visited with great severity.
It was known as " the winter epidemic " in Phila-
delphia, and in the South, where it was very fatal
among the negro population, as "the cold plague."
The simple faith in the power of medicine was in
those days quite touching, and for the question " What
ought I to do ? " which sensible persons now ask when
disorder threatens the body, there was substituted the
inquiry " What ought I to take ? " The answers
came thick and fast, and here are a few of them.
Take linseed and licorice, also barley water, also a
mixture of vinegar and sugar candy, also wine of
antimony, then try senna, and, above all things, prac-
tise no short-sighted economy in the matter of blue
pills. I declined to fortify my system with any of
200 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
these admirable doses, for it was evident to me that
everybody was not sick, after all. There was Cooper,
for instance, — - " Cooper, the noblest Eoman of them
all," as Charles Sprague called him in his Phi Beta
poem upon Curiosity, — he, at least, had no influenza,
for the bills announced that he was to play one of
his best Shakespearian parts, Mark Antony in " Julius
Caesar," that very night. And, for further assurance,
no sooner had we seated ourselves at Mrs. Frazier's
dining-table than Cooper himself stalked into the
room and took a place in our neighborhood. He was
a fine-looking man of about fifty, and we found his
conversation to be that of an educated gentleman, with
just that dash of easy Bohemianism which young
people find attractive. Americans can never feel
about any other actor as we once felt about Cooper,
who came to our shores in the last century and
had created our conceptions of the greater characters
in the Shakespearian drama. I have before me some
letters written from Boston, in 1807, which testify to
the fascinations of Cooper's acting at that date. They
mention that the fashionable circles of the town could
make nothing of Hamlet until Cooper came to show
them what Shakespeare meant by that mysterious
personage. About the time I met him in New York
he was much admired in Romeo (Miss Kelly being
the Juliet), a part which he played much better than
when he was a young man. And so theatre-goers
matched a saying of Edmund Kean's, that only a
young man could play King Lear, by declaring that
it required an old one to give the best representation
of the boy -lover of Verona.
FROM NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 201
After dinner, I repaired to my uncle's house on
the Battery, then the ornament of New York and
surrounded by the wealth and fashion of the city.
Everybody there was down with the influenza; but
one of my cousins, less afflicted than the rest, insisted
upon getting up to go with me to Mrs. Hamilton
Holley's splendid ball, which it would never do for a
stranger to miss. And a splendid ball it was ! — or
was meant to be. Handsome rooms, a fine band of
music, and a good supper. There was but one draw-
back, — there were no guests. Six ladies, says my
journal, and a few more gentlemen were the only
influenzaless persons in the polite society of New
York; and one of these six ladies was from Phila-
delphia. This was Miss Anna Gillespie ; and much
amusement we had together over this ball, which was
no ball, in the arrogant metropolis. We had been
brought by our respective friends as humble provin-
cials to gaze upon social glories we could never emu-
late, and much innocent fun was the result. A trifling
bond of union like this will put young people on
easy terms for an evening, and when I left Mrs.
Holley's ball, at one in the morning, it was with the
feeling that for me, at least, the influenza had not
despoiled it of agreeable incidents.
Of our journey to Philadelphia I copy from my
journal this brief notice : —
"February 1, 1826. — We left our lodgings at five
o'clock this morning, and, after waiting an hour for
the ferry-boat, crossed to Powles Hook, breaking the
ice all the way. Our party consisted of Judge Story,
202 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Judge Thompson (who talked incessantly about plead-
ing), a navy officer, and three ladies of uncertain
reputation, with whom the said navy officer held high
converse all the way. We had an opposition stage
at our heels, and consequently drove very rapidly;
but our detention at the ferry was so great that it
was between eleven and twelve before we put up at
the Mansion House."
The next day I saw something of Philadelphia, and
in the evening three acts of Kean's Hamlet, which I
left, with great reluctance, to attend a supper-party
at Mr. Nathaniel Amory's, "where I found every-
thing in the Boston style, and could hardly believe,
when I saw the jolly face of my host, that we were
both so far from the land of our fathers. Here I met
Messrs. Vaughan, Hopkinson, Meredith, with other
notables of the city." On returning to the Mansion
House, late in the evening, I found Judge Story pros-
trated with the influenza, and, of course, unable to
continue our journey to Washington. He begged
me to abandon him to his fate, and to leave the next
day, as we had intended. This I refused to do, as
we were travelling companions for better or for
worse, and it was clearly my duty to remain and
take care of him. A delightful week in Philadelphia
rewarded me for this consideration. As soon as the
Judge was convalescent the great lawyers and mighty
men of the city thronged to call upon him, and most
interesting discussions went on in the sick-chamber.
Of these I regret to say I made no notes, although
my journal implies that the talk of those eminent
FROM NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 203
lawyers, Sergeant and Binney, would have been well
worth reporting. Both of these men I heard in court
during my visit. Sergeant was dull in his manner,
giving a stranger no adequate impression of the depth
and force of reasoning which had made him famous.
His rival, Binney, on the contrary, had all the quali-
ties which take at a glance. He was fine-looking
and exceedingly graceful; his speaking was easy and
often rose into eloquence. The men seemed to be
pretty nearly abreast in the estimation of the bar.
I soon had another distinguished patient; no less
a person than Henry Wheaton, at that time reporter
for the United States Supreme Court, and engaged in
the preparation of those twelve volumes of decisions
which will keep his name greener than all the good
diplomatic work he afterward performed. He arrived
at the Mansion House terribly afflicted with the pre-
vailing epidemic, and, at the recommendation of
Judge Story, who was now getting better, put himself
under my care. In a day or two he so far recovered
as to be no small addition to the distinguished circle
which held its sessions in the Judge's parlor. My
journal gives some notices of Philadelphia society:
of a dinner at General Cadwallader's, and of a young
man's supper-party at the house of Mr. . Of
the latter entertainment the entry reads thus : " We
met about eight ; looked over caricatures and played
cards until nine. We were then summoned to an
elegant supper, about twenty of the first young men
of Philadelphia being the guests. They were not in-
tellectual, and were in a fair way to be drunk when
204 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
I left them at midnight." Probably nothing better
could be said of the gilded youths of New York or
Boston at that period of little literature and much
conviviality. I find a notice of an evening at the
theatre, whither I was taken by Mrs. Cadwallader, and
where I was greatly surprised to see women admitted
to the pit. The Beatrice of the play — I suppress the
name of the actress, as she has long been past criti-
cism — I find vulgar and coarse ; but the Dogberry of
Jefferson (grandfather to Bip Van Winkle) was a
revelation of the power of comic acting. It was mag-
nificent. I tell how I stopped to laugh over it on
my way home. I could not get rid of that superb
patronage of Goodman Verges, and of the monstrous
inflation of the "rich fellow enough, who knew the
law and had had losses."
On Sunday I listened to preaching from Dr. Aber-
crombie, at St. John's Church, and heard some dis-
cussion of a singular ecclesiastical privilege which
then existed in Philadelphia. This was the right to
obstruct the streets by chains during the hours of
divine service. There were petitions going about for
the repeal of the act of legislation which permitted
proceedings which the objectors seemed to think
worthy of the imaginary Blue Laws of Connecticut.
It was alleged that doctors visiting their patients,
and other travellers upon errands of mercy, were put
to sore inconvenience by these chains across the high-
ways. They were, moreover, typical of that fetter
between Church and State which the Genius of
America was supposed to have shattered. To all
FROM NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 205
which it was answered that a state which compelled
no one to attend religious exercises must, at least,
protect from annoyance those who choose to do so ;
that medical men and the very few lawful travellers
might well be required to go a little out of their way
for the good of large classes of the community ; and
that, as all other travellers were breaking the law by
being out at all, it was the height of impudence to ask
law-makers to consider their convenience while doing
so. How the dispute was settled I am unable to say.
It seemed to me one of those cases in which appear-
ances which excite the imagination of any part of the
community should have been avoided. Philadelphia
is so built that the inconvenience of going round a
block or two, to avoid disturbing worshippers, must
have been scarcely appreciable ; but the chains did
have a bad look about them, and proper police regula-
tions should have prevented their employment.
On Thursday, the ninth day of February, Judge
Story and Mr. Wheaton were pronounced well enough
to proceed on their way to the capital, provided they
broke the journey and avoided the chill and exposure
of the early morning. They accordingly left Phila-
delphia by a private conveyance, and I was to over-
take them, the next day, by the more fatiguing but
more economical transportation of the regular stage.
As the brief account of my progress toward Washing-
ton seems to require no abridgment, the contempo-
rary record shall be copied.
" February 10, 1826. — At three o'clock this morning
the light of a candle under the door and a rousing
206 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
knock told me that it was time to depart, and shortly
after I left Philadelphia by the Lancaster stage, other-
wise a vast, illimitable wagon, with seats without
backs, capable of holding some sixteen passengers
with decent comfort to themselves, and actually en-
cumbered with some dozen more. After riding till
eight o'clock, we reached the Breakfast House, where
we partook of a good meal and took up Messrs. Story
and Wheaton. We then proceeded through a most
beautiful tract of country, where good fences and huge
stone barns proved the excellence of the farming. The
road seemed actually lined with Conostoga wagons,
each drawn by six stalwart horses and laden with
farm produce. At Lancaster, the largest inland town
in the United States, we changed stages and company.
From that place to York our party consisted of Lang-
don Cheves, formerly president of the United States
Bank, Mr. Buchanan, a member of Congress from
Pennsylvania, Mr. Henry, another member from Ken-
tucky, Judge Story, Mr. Wheaton, and myself. I
found the additions rather amusing men, and we rode
together till some time after dark, when we reached
York, found good accommodations, and are ready to
turn in, it being about ten o'clock.
"February 11. — After being detained till near ten
by the non-arrival of the stage from Harrisburg, we
started for Baltimore, and, after a tedious ride through
a hilly country and over bad roads, we reached ' Bar-
num's' at eleven o'clock to-night. We were much
fatigued and wanted to go to bed ; but Barnum, who
is <i great friend of Judge Story, and knew him when
FROM NEW YORK TO WASHINGTON. 207
he (Barnum) kept the Exchange Coffee House in Bos-
ton, would keep us up for canvas-backs and a bottle
of capital wine. We sat talking over these delicacies
till near one o'clock.
" February 12. — We left Baltimore at nine o'clock
in the morning, and reached Washington about three
in the afternoon. At the recommendation of Mr.
Cheves, I accompanied him to Miss Hyer's on Capi-
tol Hill, where I found a delightful party of gentle-
men, consisting of Thomas Addis Emmet and David
B. Ogden, of New York ; Eufus G. Amory, of Boston ;
Captain Stockton, of the navy ; Captain Zantzinger,
of the army ; and, last and least, so far as bodily pres-
ence goes, my old travelling companion, Mr. John
Knapp. I suppose it was only because he had re-
tained Mr. Emmet that he dared to come to the same
table with Captain Stockton, the defendant in the
' Marianna Flora ' case, whom he is bound to make out
a fierce and terrible fellow indeed. I called this
evening upon Mr. Webster, and through his hands
received a letter from home. He was not in himself ;
but I spent a pleasant hour with Mrs. Webster and
Mrs. Blake."
I had come to Washington at an interesting time.
John Quincy Adams, perhaps the best-trained execu-
tive officer this country has ever possessed, occupied
the Presidential chair. Henry Clay was Secretary of
State, — an office he should never have accepted, as
the charge of corrupt bargaining with the man whom
he had made President was sure to be made. Shortly
after the inauguration, had been heard the first threat-
208 FIGUKES OF THE PAST.
enings of the conflict which thirty- four years later
was to deluge the country with blood. During the
previous May, Governor Troup, of Georgia, had ad-
dressed a message to his legislature complaining of
" officious and impertinent intermeddlings with our
domestic concerns," and closing with an exhortation
to " step forth, and, having exhausted the argument,
to stand by your arms." A combination of brilliant,
if unscrupulous, political leaders, about which a new
party was to crystallize, had opened its batteries upon
the administration and was thundering forth the
grossest charges. The situation must be remembered
in order to understand such notices of public and
social life at Washington as my journals may enable
me to give.
VISITS TO JOHN KANDOLPH.
WILL begin my account of Washington with
■■■ some notices of the remarkable man whom of all
others I most desired to see. This was John Kan-
dolph, a good friend and correspondent of my father's,
though two men more utterly dissimilar in tempera-
ment and opinions can scarcely be imagined. I shall
first give some report of the part he took in the pri-
vate conversations to which I was admitted, and
afterward describe two memorable occasions when I
heard him in the Senate.
I left a card with a letter from my father at " Daw-
son's," on Capitol Hill, the lodgings of Mr. Eandolph,
soon after my arrival. With great promptness, he
sent me a note, in which he alluded to the trying
political scenes through which he had passed with
my father, and declared the " sentiments of great
esteem and regard " which he cherished toward him.
Describing himself as " an old and very infirm man,"
he begged me to waive ceremony, and visit him either
before the meeting of the Senate or between its ad-
journment and eight o'clock in the evening, which
hour, he was careful to mention, was his bedtime.
About ten the next morning I called upon Mr.
14
210 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Randolph, and was admitted to Lis bedchamber. He
was sitting in flannel dressing-gown and slippers, look-
ing very thin, but with a strange fire in his swarthy
face. He seemed more like a spiritual presence than
a man adequately clothed in flesh and blood. His
voice was high but very agreeable, having nothing of
the shrillness which I heard at the great race, and
afterwards in debate. He received me with crpeat
o
cordiality, and began to talk of his friendship for
my father, and of the kindness he had done him in
acting as guardian for his nephew, Tudor Eandolph,
when the young man was an undergraduate at Cam-
bridge. He alluded to the death of this son (for so
he was accustomed to speak of him) with deep emo-
tion. He had died more than ten vears before, at
Cheltenham, in England, having been compelled to
leave college through failing health. " I loved him.
He was my heir, sir; he was the last of the Ran-
dolphs. He would have done credit to a name
which now dies with me." He then spoke of his
it to the grave of his nephew in England, and of
his disgust at a monument which he had ordered and
paid for. ■ Sir, it was poor and inappropriate ; but
then [in a tone of the bitterest grief] they never
thought I should see it. Ah ! they never thought I
should see it." Abruptly leaving this painful sub-
ject, Randolph suddenly inquired, "Do you know
Mrs. , of Boston?' ^.arcely waiting for my
affirmative reply, he launched forth into an eulogium
upon this lady, contrasting her with the fashionable
ladies of Washington, toward whom he was by no
VISITS TO JOHN - RANDOLPH. 211
means complimentary. He enlarged with great mi-
nuteness upon Mrs. 's excellent taste in dress,
which he pronounced the elegance of perfect sim-
plicity. There was one jewel which she had worn
in her turban (then a fashionable feminine head-
dress) that was placed with consummate skill, and
the effect was dazzling. He had found her conver-
sation intellectual and full of point. ""What a con-
trast," he said, " to the vapid talk of the fashionable
society at Washington ! What a contrast to their
tasteless dresses, bestuck with tawdrv ornament-
Eandolph expressed himself admirably and with much
fervor ; but what he said about this lady I can com-
pare only to the rhapsody of a lover.
By introducing the subject of England, I set Mr.
Eandolph off upon a new line of enthusiasm. He
never felt so much at home as when there. He be-
longed to the Church of England, not to the Protes-
tant Episcopal Church of America. As for London,
he found he knew it better from study of the map
than many persons who were its citizen He spoke
of Shakespeare with great admiration, saying that
he had visited many places only because this poet
had chosen to immortalize them. Among them was
Shrewsbury, of which he gave a graphic account,
quoting largely from the play of " Henry IT.," and,
in conclusion, reciting with great animation the fine
description of the arrival of the news "that young
Harry Percy's spur was cold." He spoke of modern
poets, and of the genius of Byron, whose character
he detested. " Let me tell you, sir, that Don Juan
214 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
folly it would be to quote the classics to an average
American audience ! I know of only three books with
which all decently educated Americans are familiar.
These are the Bible, Shakespeare, and Milton. Now
I want you to notice a fine passage from Burke,
which I will repeat, and you will find that he has
used thought or language from these three books in
its construction." Mr. Kandolph then recited the
following passage from the author he had named : —
"Old religious factions are volcanoes burnt out.
On the lava and ashes and squalid scoriae of old
eruptions grow the peaceful olive, the cheering vine,
and the sustaining corn. Such was the first, such
the second condition of Vesuvius. But when a new
fire bursts out a face of desolation comes on, not to
be rectified in ages. Therefore, when men come
before us and rise up like an exhalation from the
ground, they come in a questionable shape, and we
must exorcise them and try whether their intents be
wicked or charitable; whether they bring airs from
heaven or blasts from hell."
I said that I did not remember this passage, and
asked where I could find it. "Go to the Congres-
sional IMEl y," was Mr. ^Randolph's reply, "look in
the third alcove, on the right-hand side, third shelf
from floor, fifth volume on the shelf, page 336, about
half-way down." I made a memorandum of the di-
rection, went to the library, and found the passage
exactly where he had placed it. [Having lost the
original memorandum, I have given the page from
my own copy of Burke, which may or may not cor*
VISITS TO JOHN RANDOLPH. 215
respond with that in the library ; but Mr. Eandolph's
direction was just as explicit as I have written it.]
Of course, such a feat of memory might have been
an accident or a trick. In Mr. Eandolph's case I am
convinced it was neither. No one could have heard
him in debate or conversation without being im-
pressed with the tenacious clutch of his memory
upon all that had come within its range. A fluent
talker without abundant stores to draw upon soon
betrays himself. Others may have had as great a
capital; but this man's wealth was, so to speak, all
on deposit, and he could command it in an instant.
Mr. Eandolph spoke of the Waverley Novels, and
declared Scott to be a mere romancer, who drew men
as we should like to see them, but by no means as
they are. " Fielding, on the contrary, holds the
mirror up to nature; his characters are flesh and
blood. There are Blifil and Black George types of
character repeated in every age." A week or two
after this, Mr. Eandolph's remarks were vividly re-
called to me by the use he made of these fictitious
personages in the Senate of the United States. In
one of his outbursts of indignation, he called the
union of the President and Henry Clay "the coa-
lition of Blifil and Black George ; the combination,
unheard of till now, of the Puritan and the blackleg."
According to the ruling sentiment at Washington,
there was but one result which could follow such
language as this. Mr. Eandolph and Mr. Clay must
exchange shots, and so they did; Mr. Clay's ball
cutting Mr. Eandolph's coat near the hip, and Mr.
216 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Randolph's ball burying itself in a stump in the rear
of Mr. Clay. On the second round Randolph re-
ceived the shot of his antagonist, which was happily
without effect, and then, raising his pistol, fired into
the air. " You owe me a coat, Mr. Clay," said he, ad-
vancing and holding out his hand. " I am glad the
debt is no greater," was the reply. And so ended an
affair which Mr. Benton places among " the highest-
toned duels " that he ever witnessed.
I spoke of the death of Mr. Gaillard, of South
Carolina, and of the eulogium of his colleague, Mr.
Hayne, on announcing it to the Senate. " Gaillard
was our oldest senator," said Mr. Randolph, " and is
greatly to be pitied, — to be pitied, not because he
died, but because he died in this place. I have been
ill here and have feared death ; feared it because I
would not die in Washington, be eulogized by men
I despise, and buried in the Congressional Burying-
ground. The idea of lying by the side of . Ah,
that adds a new horror to death ! I have done what
I could to guard against this calamity by directions
to my executors ; but who knows what may happen ? "
When I rose to take leave of Mr. Randolph, after a
long and most agreeable visit, he shook my hand very
cordially and said, "As the son of a valued friend
of mine, it has given me great pleasure to talk with
you. I mean to talk to you, for I have given you
no chance to say five words this evening."
As I have mentioned the death of Mr. Gaillard, I
will close with a word about his funeral, which I fear
I attended in no better character than that of a sight-
VISITS TO JOHN RANDOLPH. 217
seer. It was held in the Senate Chamber ; but ex-
cept the members of a committee, who, having the
arrangements in charge, attended officially, there were
neither mourners nor senators. Dr. Staughton, the
chaplain of the Senate, assisted by Mr. Post, who held
that office in the House, performed the service. They
wore long white scarfs, which also decorated the com-
mittee, as well as the doctor of the deceased, who,
contrary to the rulings of medical etiquette, was
among the few stragglers who looked in upon the
ceremony. I have never seen the color white used
as mourning upon any other occasion, and am at a
loss to explain its significance. The chilly indiffer-
ence with which these last services over the oldest
senator of the nation were regarded struck me very
painfully. They had given Congressmen a holiday,
and that was enough. But the indifference of the
Senate Chamber was, at least, better than the bur-
lesque of the streets ; for this is the term my journal
applies to the funeral procession which it describes.
This consisted of some sixty hacks, in every stage of
shabbiness and dilapidation. They carried no pas-
sengers ; but the hats of the drivers were bound with
broad bands of snowy whiteness, which descended
half-way down their variously colored backs. A thick
fog of the most depressing sort filled the atmosphere
as this wretched pageantry escorted the mortal part
of poor Mr. Gaillard to the congressional sepulchre.
Truly, John Randolph's feelings about the mortuary
rites of Washington were not to be wondered at.
" Leur luxe est affreux" shuddered Talleyrand, in ref-
218 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
erence to the taste of that generation of our country-
men with which he was acquainted. He would have
had no occasion to use a less vigorous adjective in
contemplating the jpompe funebre of an American
senator in the year 1826.
KANDOLPH IN THE SENATE.
T HAD two opportunities of listening to Mr. Kan-
■*■ dolph in the Senate, and was completely fasci-
nated by his extraordinary gifts as a talker; for it
was not oratory (though at times he would produce
great oratorical effects) so much as elevated conver-
sation that he poured forth. His speeches were
charming or provoking, according to the point of view
of the listener. To a senator anxious to expedite the
public business, or to hurry through the bill he had
in charge, Eandolph's harangues upon all sorts of
irrelevant subjects must have been very annoying ;
but to one who was not troubled by such responsi-
bilities they were a delightful entertainment. There
was no effort about the speeches. They were given
with absolute ease, the speaker constantly changing
his position, turning from side to side, and at times
leaning against the rail which enclosed the senatorial
chairs. His dress was a blue riding-coat with buck-
skin breeches ; for he always rode to the Senate, fol-
lowed by his black servant, both master and man
being finely mounted. His voice was silvery in its
tones, becoming unpleasantly shrill only when con-
veying direct invective. Four fifths of what he said
220 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
had the slenderest possible connection with the sub-
ject which had called him up; but, so far as the
chance visitor was concerned, this variety only added
a charm to the entertainme.uk
On the 14th of February, 1826, the introduction of
a bill for surveying a portion of Florida with a view
to a canal route brought Mr. Eandolph to his feet.
This project was favored by the other representatives
of the South, and it was easy to see how provoked
and embarrassed they felt by opposition in a quarter
so unexpected. But Eandolph, who had always
strenuously denied the power of Congress to make
internal improvements in the States, would not will-
ingly concede it in the case of the Territories. He
could not find it written in the bond that the money
of the people should be poured out for local improve-
ments anywhere.
Johnston, of Louisiana, put in a reply, in which he
used Mr. Randolph as a Southern ally with great
tenderness, but intimated that, as Cuba commanded
the key to the Gulf of Mexico, its possession by a
first-class naval power would be highly injurious to
Southern interests. The canal would be in some sort
a protection against this dire possibility.
" If all constitutional restraints are to be pushed
aside, let us take Cuba and done with it ! " said Ean-
dolph, in reply. Johnston's special pleading was
dubbed an argumentum ah inconveniently and he was
urged to consider the consequences (the word was
uttered with significant emphasis) which might en-
sue. Here Eandolph paused and looked his fellow
RANDOLPH IN THE SENATE. 22]
Southerners well over. Could they not see that, by
taking this bait of internal improvements to strengthen
their peculiar institution of slavery, they opened the
way for the General Government to interfere to its
disadvantage ? The words were unspoken, but the
look conveyed their meaning with perfect clearness
He concluded in a strain of the bitterest irony : " Bu\
what care we for consequences ? Only the timid anc
the purblind look to consequences ! No, sir ; you,
gallant statesman, mounted on his Eosinante anc
fairly in the lists, looks to no consequence — [a pause '
except to Ms own consequence ! "
The sarcasm provoked no angry retort from Hayne,
of South Carolina, who now entered the debate with
the grace and forbearance of a polished gentleman.
He believed in drawing a distinction between state
and territory, and took occasion to say that South
Carolina had spent nearly two millions in making
her own canals and roads. The Territories resembled
the District of Columbia, over which no one doubted
that the authority of Congress was paramount.
Mr. Eandolph replied by holding up a copy of the
Constitution, in a somewhat theatrical style, and de-
claring that it was like the Bible, which his friends
found useful for preserving their receipts and deeds,
but which they never opened. He disposed of the
comparison to the District of Columbia very effectu-
ally, showing that the omnipotent sovereign author-
ity that Congress might there exercise was widely
different from the power to make needful regulations
which was conceded over the Territories. The authors
222 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
of the Constitution, he said, never suspected how
their political machine would work ; and, after point-
ing out their misapprehensions in this particular, he
disposed of these worthies by exclaiming, with a
superb wave of the hand, "And such is political
foresight ! "
Interesting as was Mr. Eandolph's part in this
debate on the canal question, my friends assured me
that I had not yet heard him at his best, or worst.
But it was my good fortune to be present in the Sen-
ate some two weeks afterward, when he gave what
was universally allowed to be one of the most char-
acteristic speeches he ever made. This was in refer-
ence to the Panama Mission, an absorbing topic of
public interest and one which created on both sides
feelings as intense as have ever been shown in our
national legislature. The condition of certain South
American states had recently been changed from that
of subject colonies to independent republics, and the
project was formed of assembling on the Isthmus of
Panama a congress, at which each of them should be
represented, to deliberate upon subjects common to
all. The United States were asked to take a leading
part in this assembly, and the invitation had been
accepted, and plenipotentiaries appointed by the Ex-
ecutive. The Northern States warmly approved this
course, which seemed to be in the line of what should
be the national sentiment. The monarchies of Europe
had formed a "Holy Alliance" to crush liberty in
the Eastern Hemisphere. What could be more suit-
able than for the republics of the West to unite in a
RANDOLPH IN THE SENATE. 223
much holier union to maintain it? By the South
this interrogation was met by the cry that a fearful
crisis was at hand ; and while some of its more as-
tute representatives confined their scruples to ques-
tions of constitutional law and national policy, John
Eandolph and the hotter spirits blurted out the real
objection to the scheme. The South would never
consult with nations who had put the black man on
an equality with the white, and, horror upon horrors !
were known to have mulatto generals in command of
their armies. From this opposition arose the party
which finally placed Jackson in the presidential chair ;
a party whose stock in trade at this time consisted of
bitter vituperation of the administration, and at the
head of which Eandolph took his natural place. John
Quincy Adams — to his lasting honor be it said — re-
fused to remove from high offices men who had joined
a party which imputed to his administration all that
was corrupt and base. They had a right, he declared,
to support such men and measures as they saw fit;
and he would never punish a man for any criticism
upon his own political acts, however offensively it
was conveyed. The debate in the Senate upon the
proposition to send ministers to the congress at
Panama had been held with closed doors. This was
the custom when the appointments of the Executive
were considered, and consequently there was no au-
dience for the stirring appeals which rumor attributed
to Eandolph. But the fiery Southron had no notion
of confining a vehement expression of his feelings to
a petty senatorial group. He must address a larger
224 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
assembly, and he saw how to make the opportunity.
On the 1st of March he suddenly sprung a resolution
upon the Senate which called upon the Executive to
communicate information concerning the views of the
South American republics relative to the emancipa-
tion of slaves. The demand was, of course, absurd,
as the President could possess no information upon
the subject that was not open to any inquirer ; but
it served the purpose of abolishing the secret session,
and admitting the public to hear Mr. Eandolph's
views about the Panama Mission and about a great
many other things besides.
He began with sarcasm. It was well known that
the President of the United States meant to send
ministers to the congress that was to assemble at
Panama. He fervently hoped that these ministers
would labor under none of the odious and exploded
prejudices which revolted the over- fastidious Southern
gentleman and repelled him from associating on terms
of equality with persons of African descent. He
hoped that the ministers who had been appointed
were prepared to sit down humbly with the native
African, the mixed breeds, and the Indian, and to
take no offence at the motley mixture. General Boli-
var, whom somebody had called " the South American
Washington," was then handled without gloves. " I
remember, sir," said Mr. Eandolph, M that when the
old Earl of Bedford was condoled with by a hypocrite
on the murder of his son, Lord Eussell, he indignantly
replied that he would not exchange his dead son for
the living son of any man on earth. So I would not
KANDOLPH IN THE SENATE. 225
gire our dead Washington for any living Washington,
or (whatever may be the blessings reserved for man-
kind in the womb of time) for any Washington who
is likely to live in your time, Mr. President, or in
mine." After pouring out his usual wealth of illus-
tration and miscellaneous knowledge, Mr. Eandolph
took up Cuba, from which island he asserted that the
whole country on the Gulf of Mexico could be in-
vaded with row-boats. If other states were to take
possession of this island, the genius of universal
emancipation would proclaim its anathema against
the white population ; and then what would be the
consequence to the Southern States ? " This is one of
those cases," he exclaimed, " in which the suggestion
of instinct — the instinct of self-preservation — was
worth all the logic in the world. It is one of those
cases in which our passions instruct our reason ! "
But Mr. Randolph's great effort (if I may so call a
performance which to him was evidently no effort at
all) was reserved for the next day. He announced
that he should ask for the consideration of his reso-
lution immediately upon the meeting of the Senate,
and that meant that another speech would be forth-
coming. I was early upon the spot, and for two
hours held my attention fixed by his various and
fluent improvisations, his cutting irony, his terribly
sincere, although absolutely undeserved denuncia-
tions. His memory and imagination seemed inex-
haustible. He would take a subject (almost any
which happened to get in his way), turn and twist it
about, display it in some fantastic light, and then,
15
226 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
with scorn, push it aside. That famous dictum of
the Declaration of Independence concerning the
equality of men, which thirty years after Eufus
Choate styled " a glittering generality," Eandolph
pilloried as " an idle fanfarronade." The pernicious
falsehoods contained in these general expressions were
in a certain sense true, and so were especially mis-
leading. He compared Mr. Jefferson's statement to
that of a person who should say that the soil of Scot-
land was as rich as that of Kentucky, because there
was no difference in the superficial contents of the
acre.
During a pause in the discourse Hayne rose, and
urged the speaker to postpone his call upon the Ex-
ecutive, at the same time complimenting him warmly
upon his speech.
Taking up the word, Eandolph declared that he
could make no regular speech. Not that this was to
be regretted ; for, like many other regular things, regu-
lar speeches were apt to be exceedingly dull. The
general effect of such speeches was a want of any
effect whatsoever. What he did was to imitate an
Italian improvisatore, taking up subjects that he had
well thought out. He considered that the world had
been greatly injured by parliamentary eloquence,
which was no qualification for government. Fox, to
be sure, was a statesman, as well as a debater ; but the
dialectics of Pitt had been the curse of England. He
was admirably qualified for a professor of rhetoric,
and might have held that chair at Cambridge in Old
or New England (a thrust at Mr. Adams, who had
RANDOLPH IN THE SENATE. 227
been professor of this art in Harvard College) ; but
as a statesman he was a tyro and his great measures
all failed.
In concluding, Eandolph told a story of some wise-
acre who was sent to search the vaults of the Parlia-
ment House at the time of the Gunpowder Plot.
This mythical personage reported that he found fifty
barrels of powder, and had removed twenty-five of
them and hoped that the rest would do no harm.
"The step you are about to take," exclaimed the
speaker, the characteristic outstretched forefinger
pointing the emphasis, " applies the match to the
powder; and, be there twenty-five barrels or fifty
barrels, there is enough to blow, not the first of the
Stuarts, but the last of another dynasty sky-high,
sir ! Yes, sir, sky-high ! "
And sky-high rose the voice of Mr. Eandolph, as
if to follow Mr. Adams in his aerial flight. There
was no savor of the ridiculous in this passionate
climax. The speaker's thorough -going sincerity pre-
vented such a suggestion. The old saying that lan-
guage was given to man to conceal his thoughts has
a percentage of truth in it. Most men are conscious
of selecting and modifying the products of the mind,
with a view to their suitable presentation. The in-
terest of Kandolph's speeches was that he simply
exposed his intellect and let you see it at work. It
was like catching Webster or some other great orator
in his library and looking over the rough notes he
had rejected. There one might find figures of rhetoric
a little too showy for good taste ; blunt expressions
228 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
of opinion which had been softened and draped in
ambiguous phrases. It is possible that such a sur-
vey might increase our admiration for the artist, at
the expense of our respect for the man. But after
hearing Kandolph speak or converse, the feeling was
that you had come in contact with the essential per-
sonality of this Virginian Hotspur, and that there
was much there which justified the affection that
his friends felt for him.
A gentleman whom I met in Washington had re-
turned with Randolph to his plantation after a ses-
sion of Congress, and testified to me of the affection
with which he was regarded by his slaves. Men and
women rushed toward him, seized him by the hand
with perfect familiarity, and burst into tears of de-
light at his presence among them. His conduct to
these humble dependants was like that of a most
affectionate father among his children, and it is well
known that, when he could no longer protect them,
he emancipated them by will and provided for their
support in a free State.
The time has not yet come to estimate with impar-
tiality the class of Southern gentlemen to which Ran-
dolph belonged. Many of them were men of great
ability and singular fascination of manner. Once
accept their premises (and these premises were to
them as the axioms of mathematics), and they are
knightly figures fighting upon that side of the irre-
pressible conflict which protected their families and
the civilization, such as it was, which had produced
themselves and the high-spirited caste into which
RANDOLPH IN THE SENATE. 229
they were born. The incendiarism which would
light the torch of servile insurrection and plunge
their fair possessions into barbarism seemed to them
far worse than that which fired warehouses and dwell-
ings, which a few months of labor might replace. It
is unnecessary here to enlarge upon their errors or
delusions, which every school-boy now deems himself
able to expose. Of Mr. Eandolph I saw too little,
and I look with sincere regret upon this kind note
from him, interleaved with my journal and written
the day I left Washington. It bids me come and
dine with him at " a confectioner's shop near the
Seven Buildings." There I should have met a small
circle of his friends, with the consequence of much
satisfaction to myself at the time, and possibly to the
readers of this paper half a century later.
COMMODOKE STOCKTOK
PHE gentlemen whom I met at Miss Hyer's
A boardiDg-house were for the most part consid-
erably older than myself, and, I became really inti-
mate with only one of them. To Lieutenant Stockton
— or, as he was commonly called, Captain Stockton
— there was much to unite me. A few years my
senior, he was a lifetime before me in experience.
Our fathers had fought together in the thinning ranks
of Federalism, and had imbued their sons with the
sentiment that it was honor enough to perish with
that failing cause, and that no future party could so
claim the allegiance of intelligent gentlemen. In
Captain Stockton himself there centred elements of
romance which are seldom possible to our prosaic
modern life. His cruises about the world were in
the exciting times of war and piracy, and he had
penetrated a part of Africa where no white man had
ever set foot. Of hairbreadth 'scapes he had had a
generous allowance. He had fought duels when the
sentiment of his profession called for this test of
personal valor ; and, with a nobler courage, he had
thrown the cat-o'-nine-tails into the sea, declaring
that the lash was not necessary to govern men who
were sailing under a competent commander.
COMMODORE STOCKTON. 231
I became very well acquainted with Stockton.
We took long rambles together about Washington ;
and, after my return from its evening festivities,
we would sit long into the night, gently sipping a
medicine which the doctors of the capital thought
destructive of the influenza germs which were lying
in wait for the unwary. Of course, I am fitting their
opinions to a modern phrase; for they knew nothing
about the germ theory in those days, but fought dis-
ease with such antidotes as observation commended.
Not knowing the Latin name under which their
prescription may figure in the pharmacopoeia, I am
obliged to give it the bald English translation of
whiskey punch. The hour was, of all the twenty-
four, best adapted to confidences, and it is possible
that the medicine contributed a little to the easy
flow of the narratives. Had Sindbad the Sailor been
a man of unimpeachable veracity, I am willing to
allow that those who listened to the story of his
voyages, as it fell from his own lips, might have
been more astonished and interested than was the
companion of Captain Stockton ; but with this nota-
ble exception, surely no mariner of thirty ever had
adventures more remarkable, or told them more mod-
estly and agreeably.
I remember the fine spirit with which Stockton
gave the story of the expected engagement with the
British ship "Plantagenet." "This was just off the
harbor of New York," he said. "We had been
cruising about the seas for months, and were spoiling
for a fight. The ' Plantagenet ' was to windward,
232 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
and we could not go to her ; but Eodgers backed his
topsails and fired a gun as a signal to her to come
down. Our guns were then shotted and our decks
cleared for action. The Britisher had a heavier
weight of metal than we, and Eodgers's plan was to
take her by boarding. Some of us had to go to the
maintop, armed with rifles and a couple of howitzers.
Up aloft I was in command ; below every man was
at his post ; and then — we waited and waited.
Eodgers kept walking up and down the deck, and
the creak of his boots was the only sound that broke
the silence. Suddenly the Commodore called out to
me, ' Mr. Stockton, we expect great things from you
to-day, sir ! ' I was but a young fellow then, and
when he said that, I would have got into a gun and
been shot off, if that would have given us the victory.
What Shakespeare says about the interim between
the acting of a fearful thing and the first motion we
had reason to understand. The delay was a hideous
dream, just as he calls it. We waited and waited ;
but the ' Plantagenet ' would not accept our chal-
lenge. Well, Eodgers had a British colonel down
below, whom he had taken out of a prize ; so, when
he could stand it no longer, he sent down his com-
pliments and begged him, if he were at leisure, to
step on deck for a few moments. 'Now, sir,' said
the Commodore, handing him his glass, * oblige me
by looking that British man-of-war well over. Does
she carry more metal than the " President " ? ' 'I
should say she did, sir.' ' Well, sir, I 've challenged
her, and she refuses. What do you say to that ? '
COMMODORE STOCKTON. 233
* I don't know what to say to it, sir; but this I do
know, that if I ever get to England I will take no
rest till the commander of that vessel is hanging at
his own yard-arm.' Well, the end of it was that the
commander of the * Plantagenet ' was tried in Eng-
land ; but got off on the ground that his crew were
in such a state of mutiny that he could not give
battle."
I can give only a few salient points from narrations
which deserved much fuller reporting. But what no
reporting can give is the joyous, patriotic temper with
which the gallant officer gave his spirited accounts
of the humbling of the British flag upon the ocean
during the war which began in 1812. His adven-
tures on board the " Guerriere " and the u Spitfire,"
and the capture of the Algerine pirates, given as I
heard them, would make the fortune of a star lec-
turer ; but of these neither my notes nor my memory
permit me to furnish reliable fragments.
But Stockton's most wonderful feat was his journey
into an unknown portion of Africa, in the interest of
the scheme of colonization, which finally resulted in
the settlement of Liberia. His route lay through
swamps and jungles which no white man had ever
passed ; and the end of the expedition placed him in
the power of savages who were inflamed against him
as an enemy to their business of supplying victims
for the slave-trade. He was surrounded by five
hundred or more negroes, breathing vengeance and
threatening the instant extermination of his small
party. " I thought I would get in a speech," said
234 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Stockton, " before I went down. I had brought along
an interpreter, who translated every sentence while I
was thinking over the next. I was speaking for my
life, and I think I was eloquent ; but I used only one
gesture. My hand held a pistol at full cock, pointed
at the head of the chief. I told them that upon the
first attempt at violence that man should drop, and
that the Almighty would visit a worse punishment
upon the rest of them, if they dared to molest a
stranger who had come to do them good." The end
of it was that the savages quailed at the threat, and
became perfectly submissive. Stockton thought that
moral cowardice was not peculiar to the civilized
races. It might be excited in savages, if one hap-
pened to hit upon an appeal which could reach them.
However this may be, it is certain that the effect of
the speech did not cease when the chief was no longer
under fire. The pledges then made were faithfully
carried out, and the adventurous mission accomplished
its purposes.
Something more than a hundred years ago the
question whether duelling was consistent with moral
duty was raised in the presence of Dr. Johnson. Old
General Oglethorpe, Boswell tells us, fired up at the
doubt implied in this inquiry. " Undoubtedly," said
he, "a man has a right to defend his honor." Al-
though the great Christian moralist was indisposed
to settle the question in this off-hand way, he ad-
mitted that the practice might be justified in the
then existing state of public opinion. He reasoned
that it was never unlawful to fight in self-defence ;
COMMODORE STOCKTON. 235
and, so long as the notion prevailed that an affront
was a serious injury and a man lost social standing
by putting up with it, he might be permitted to chal-
lenge the aggressor. In 1826 the dominant opinion
of Washington was in accord with that of Dr. John-
son. I have already mentioned that the Secretary of
State, charged with the interests of a mighty nation,
felt obliged to peril his own life and to risk taking
that of another man because foolish words had been
spoken in debate. It was admitted, indeed, that
duelling was an evil ; and so was war an evil ; but
as the higher civilizations could not be maintained
without recourse to arms, so the unsullied character
of a gentleman — the priceless outcome of these civ-
ilizations — could not be preserved unless he was
ready to hazard life in its defence. It would not be
difficult to point out the defect in an analogy which
was specious enough to justify a temporary phase of
human opinion ; and this opinion, strong as it was
in the civil circles of the capital, was held with ten-
fold tenacity in the army and navy. To say, then,
that Stockton in his younger days was a duellist
amounts to little more than to declare that Wash-
ington was a slaveholder. In these times a knight-
errant would be quickly dismounted and driven to
the House of Correction in the prisoners' van. Place
him where he belongs, and he stands out as the type
of a hero. A gallant and chivalrous officer of the
American navy, when this century was in its teens,
was bound to risk his life in a duel when the honor
of his profession demanded it. His ideas of duty in
236 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
such a matter were very different from ours ; but,
such as they were, we can admire the pluck and con-
sistency with which a man like Stockton accepted
the course they indicated. The entire conscientious-
ness of the man shone through the accounts he gave
me of his adventures upon the field of honor, and
neither of us were troubled by scruples which might
have presented themselves when the blood moved
less rapidly and a more sober generation was con-
ducting the world.
An insult to the gentlemen of the American navy,
written in a book that was seen by everybody, was
shown to Stockton, when his ship, the " Erie," arrived
in the Bay of Naples. It bore the signature of a
British officer then in that port; and the young
Lieutenant, without more ado, declared that the
fellow should eat his words or fight him. A friend
properly accredited was despatched to the British
ship, and, after a good deal of demur, the author of
the outrage was got ashore and consented to fight
at long range. Their pistols were discharged at the
proper signal, and Stockton's ball struck his adver-
sary in the leg, whereupon the fellow bellowed out :
u You have hit me. Are you satisfied now ?" "No,"
said Stockton ; " I am not satisfied until you write
me an apology for the language you have used."
Whereupon his fellow Britons declared that their
man, having given satisfaction, was exempt from
further proceedings. He had vindicated his honor,
and that was enough. The American party by no
means accepted this decision, and said several un-
COMMODORE STOCKTON. 237
pleasant things about the cowardice which prompted
this miserable subterfuge.
I now come to the most marvellous duelling adven-
ture in which Stockton was engaged ; and this I shall
give as I heard the story told by its hero, one day
after dinner and in the presence of several gentlemen
who were lingering about the table. Since writing
out the narrative given below, I have found in the
Boston City Library an anonymous life of Stockton,
apparently written for some political purpose and
published in 1856. The writer gives an account of
this duel from hearsay and " according to his remem-
brance." The narrative differs from mine in several
respects, and omits some striking particulars, which
I am certain that I heard from the principal actor.
There must exist materials for an authentic life of
the brilliant Commodore, and a most interesting book
it would be. Neither my memory nor my journals
are infallible; and if any particulars are misstated
(which I do not believe to be the case), they are
offered as subject to correction by a responsible biog-
rapher.
The scene was at Gibraltar, and there had been a
previous duel between Stockton and a British officer
attached to the station, who, however, was not the
officer from whom the affront to be avenged had
really come. There had been charges and counter-
charges, negotiations and criminations, till finally the
American officer in command put a stop to proceed-
ings by an order that none of his subordinates should
go ashore while the ship remained in that port. The
238 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
lull was only temporary. After a short cruise, the
" Erie " returned to Gibraltar, and this time the real
offender was forced by the public opinion of his fel-
lows to give the Yankee Lieutenant the meeting he
had demanded. A guaranty was required by Stock-
ton that the British authorities of the town should
not be informed of the duel, with a view to ordering
his arrest ; and a pledge was given that there should
be no interference. " Under these circumstances,"
said Stockton, "I went ashore without distrust. The
flag had been grossly insulted by a British officer,
who was now backed up by his comrades. I was
the only unmarried officer on board the 'Erie,' and
my duty was, of course, clear. The governor of the
fortress, during our previous visit, had announced
that he would hang any Yankee who came ashore
for the purpose of fighting ; and although it was
not probable that he would have dared to carry out
the threat, he would have been ugly enough, had he
caught me. It was arranged between our seconds
that, upon landing, w T e should be conducted to a re-
tired place, where the duel might come off without
interference. British honor was pledged to this, and,
believing it still to be worth something, I was rowed
ashore, accompanied by my second and the ship's
doctor." The graphic description of what followed
must be given in a feeble outline. The Americans
were conducted to a spot near the top of the rock,
where they met the opposing party. It then ap-
peared that no immediate fighting was contemplated,
for the Englishmen began to enter upon a discussion,
COMMODORE STOCKTON. 239
and to raise frivolous objections to the recognized
code of duelling. Stockton, seeing that all this tended
to delay, and suspecting treachery, suddenly declared
that he would waive all rights, and fight at once upon
whatever terms his opponent chose to exact. After
such a declaration no retreat was possible. The ground
was measured, shots were exchanged, and the British
officer fell wounded. Stockton advanced to inquire
into the nature of the injury, and then the wretched
man was shamed into a confession that treachery had
been practised, and that instant flight was necessary,
if his opponent would avoid arrest. Upon this the
Lieutenant started for his boat, running at full speed.
His way lay through a passage cut out of the rock,
which gave access to the beach below. Upon turn-
ing a corner, when about half-way down, he was con-
fronted by a file of soldiers, drawn up to oppose his
passage. The officer in command was a pursy little
fellow, who seemed to enjoy hugely the discomfiture
of his supposed captive. There stood this merry gen-
tleman upon a parapet which guarded the road, and
which was raised a few feet above it. His squad was
ranged in a line with him, completely cutting off the
passage. There was not a moment for delay; the
situation was desperate ; it could be met only by a
resolve as desperate. The officer was off his guard
and was chuckling with delight. Now was the in-
stant for a dash. Now stiffen the sinews, summon
up the blood, and there was yet a chance for lib-
erty. Instead of making the surrender which was
expected, Stockton sprang at this cheerful officer.
240 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
He grappled with him ; he got his head under his
arm ; he jumped with him from the parapet, and
in a moment the two men, clasped together, were
rolling over and over down the side of the rock.
Presently the parties separated, the Englishman roll-
ing one way and the American another. At length
Stockton managed to stop his dizzying and perilous
descent, and dropped a number of feet to the beach
below. Covered with blood and dirt, with his clothes
nearly stripped from him, he accosted a gentleman
who was taking his morning ride upon the beach, and
begged the instant loan of his horse. This request
the rider not unnaturally declined. Whereupon he
was seized by the leg and pulled from the saddle.
His assailant instantly mounted the horse, and, put-
ting him to his speed, made for the boat. He looked
up for a moment, and saw the soldiers running about
in a distracted manner ; most of them tearing down
the road, to cut him off. Stockton, however, reached
the boat, gave the order to pull for the frigate, and
then fainted. He did not recover consciousness until
he found himself in his berth on board the " Erie."
These events were related at the persistent request
of others. They were given modestly, but with great
spirit. There were at that time living witnesses to
the escape, and the facts connected with it were well
known. I have already said that we must regard
Stockton's duels from the point of view of the pro-
fession to which he was devoted. The highest officers
of the navy sanctioned this barbarism as a duty to
which a brave and honorable man might be called.
COMMODORE STOCKTON. 241
Only a few years before my visit to Washington four
American Commodores left the city on this miserable
business. Decatur and Barron were the principals ;
Bainbridge and Elliot acting as seconds. The brave
and gallant Decatur, the pride of the American navy,
there met his death. It is not necessary to resort to
Christian ethics to condemn a practice which has cost
such valuable lives ; but let us do justice to the high-
minded men who were victims of an infatuation which
we have left behind us.
16
THE SUPKEME COURT AND THE "MARI-
ANNA FLORA."
r ~T*HE day after my arrival at the capital I called
■*■ upon Judge Story, at the Supreme Court, as he
had requested me to do. Immediately upon adjourn-
ment he presented me to the Chief Justice and Judge
Bushrod Washington, both gentlemen whom I had
much desired to meet. The first view of Judge Mar-
shall was not impressive. He struck me as a tall
man who regretted his height, because he had not the
knack of carrying it off with ease and dignity. His
manner was so simple as to be almost rustic; and,
were it not for the brilliancy of his eyes, he might
have been taken for a mere political judge instead of
the recognized expositor of the Constitution. Judge
Story had already hinted that Marshall would be dis-
appointing to a stranger, adding that only his asso-
ciates on the Bench could appreciate his real wisdom
and greatness. The Chief Justice spoke of his sym-
pathy with my father in the good cause of Federalism,
and referred to the venerable sage of Monticello as
" Tom Jefferson," pronouncing the name with an in-
terrogative emphasis, which, without compromising
judicial impartiality, showed that, in the opinion of
the speaker, the verdict of the competent upon that
SUPREME COURT AND THE " MARIANNA FLORA." 243
important personage had not yet been rendered.
Marshall was held in extraordinary esteem by all
political parties, and the Virginians were especially
proud of him. Like all really great men, he never
troubled himself about dignity and had the simple
tastes and ready sympathies of a child. He hated
slavery, but prophesied that it could only cease
through a social convulsion. He thereby proved him-
self wiser than most of the enlightened men of his
time, who confidently looked to economical causes to
destroy this anomaly. A few days after my intro-
duction to the Chief Justice, I spoke of him to a gen-
tleman from Richmond, whom I met at an evening
party. " People in Washington don't begin to under-
stand him," said he. "Why, do you know, I have
met Marshall carrying his dinner through the streets
in an open basket!" This act of humiliation was
more impressive to a Southerner than to one of
Northern birth, and perhaps I did not exhibit the
astonishment that was expected. But the Virginian
(whose name I cannot recall, though I can bring the
man distinctly before me) had a climax in reserve, of
which he delivered himself with impressive emphasis :
" Yes, sir ; and I have seen that man walking on his
hands and knees, with a stravj in his mouth I " This
was sufficiently removed from the actions usually as-
sociated with the ermine, and was startling to one
who could not supply the explanation that would
have instantly occurred to a Southerner. The game
of quoits was at that time as universal at the South
as was croquet a few years ago upon Northern lawns.
244 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Disputes constantly arose, which required that the
distances of the quoits from the hub should be accu-
rately determined, and a straw, which was commonly
at hand, was the accepted instrument for measuring.
Judge Marshall, who was a great lover of the game,
would not shirk any of its duties. Hence the singu-
lar position in which his fellow-citizen represented
him.
Through Judge Washington, the men of my gener-
ation were brought, as it were, within speaking dis-
tance of the Father of his Country. He was not to
us the statuesque, passionless figure which I am told
that he has since become. Here was a man who had
called him " Uncle George," had joked with him, and
plagued him, as young people will plague older rela-
tives who are responsible for their good conduct.
For Bushrod Washington was more than the nephew,
he was almost the adopted son, of his uncle. He
resided at Mt. Vernon, which he had inherited, as
the representative of the name, as well as the nearest
relative, of its former possessor. He struck me as
being somewhat too small a man for an ideal judge,
and he took snuff too frequently to be credited with
those personal austerities which are not unbecoming
in magistrates. But his manner to me was very kind
and pleasant. He spoke of his friendship for my
father, and of the visits he had received from him at
Mt. Vernon.
One of these visits was in the spring of 1806 ; and
although I was in Washington at the time, I was too
young to remember the circumstances. But, like
SUPREME COURT AND THE " MARIANNA FLORA." 245
many events which happen in childhood, and for some
years after are constantly referred to in the family
circle, it seems as if I remembered all about it. The
scene of my father's only ghost story — if so it may
be called — was laid at Mt. Vernon ; and this alone
was sufficient to make the occasion memorable to a
boy. The chamber in which his uncle had died
was assigned by Judge Washington to his guest; the
host, as he withdrew, mentioning the rumor that an
interview with Washington had been granted to some
of its former occupants. If this were true, my father
pondered upon the possibility that he might be found
worthy to behold the glorified spirit of him who was
so revered by his countrymen. And during the night
he did see Washington, and this is all I have to sa)'
about it. If I gave the particulars, I should feel
bound to give a full explanation of them by Dr.
Hammond, or some other expert in cerebral illusions ;
and this would occupy too much space for an episode.
It may be worth while to say that nothing my father
saw, or thought he saw, was useful in confirming his
faith in a spiritual world. His assurance in this
matter was perfect. He believed that brain action
(if that is the correct expression) was at times set up
in us by friends no longer in the flesh, and that his
own life had been guided by these mysterious influ-
ences. Shortly before his death, he spoke of reunion
with those he had loved, as men speak of what they
know, not as they speak of what they hope or be-
lieve. There was a custom connected with the hos-
pitalities of Mt. Vernon in Judge Washington's
246 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
time which is worth noting, because it would be
scarcely possible among persons of refinement at the
present day. Guests of the family were not only
conducted to the tomb of Washington, but were in-
vited to pass through its portal, and to touch the
receptacle of his remains. It stood beside that of
Mrs. Washington, on a slightly raised platform, other
members of the family being placed against the sides
of the sepulchre. When my father visited the place,
in 1806, the velvet cover of the coffin was hanging
in tatters, it having been brought to this condition
by the assaults of relic-hunters. " Care not to strip
the dead of his sad ornament," sings my classmate,
Mr. Emerson ; and, surely, of all fetiches with which
the imagination contrives to associate the august
spirits of the great, such miserable shreds and patches
are the most vulgar. But it is time to leave the
Judges, and pass to a scene in the tribunal over
which they presided.
Saturday, the 18th of February, 1826, was an in-
teresting day for Captain Stockton and his friends.
The case of the " Marianna Flora " had at length been
reached by the Supreme Court. Already opposing
decisions had been pronounced by lower courts, and
now the highest bench would decide whether Stock-
ton was justified in the course he had thought it right
to pursue. The facts of this interesting case, so far
as they can be gathered from evidence that was
sometimes conflicting, may be condensed into a nar-
rative something like this. On the 5th of November,
1821, the United States schooner "Alligator," under
SUPREME COURT AND THE " MARIANNA FLORA." 247
the command of Lieutenant Stockton, encountered
the "Marianna Flora," a Portuguese vessel, com-
manded by Captain De Britto, an elderly officer, who
had passed many years of service. De Britto, sup-
posing the American schooner to be a pirate or priva-
teer, from whom an attack was to be apprehended,
caused his ship to lay to and prepare for action.
Stockton, on the contrary, observing that the vessel
carried no colors to show her nationality, but only
a flag which seemed to be displayed as a signal of
distress, ordered provisions to be got ready, in case
they were needed, and directed his course toward the
stranger. He then went below, to work up his lon-
gitude, which he thought his neighbor might want.
A ball which De Britto sent whistling past the " Alli-
gator" soon dissipated these suppositions; and for
some time the schooner, although displaying the
American flag, was raked by shot, which her position
prevented her from answering. The wind was very
light, and it was long before Stockton could obtain
a position from which to make an effective reply to
the fire that was poured upon him. His guns were
short pieces of ordnance, called carronades, and were
useless at a long range. When, at length, the Amer-
ican was in a position to return the cannonading
with effect, the Portuguese color was suddenly hoisted
by the attacking ship. This Stockton did not think
himself bound to regard ; but proceeded to pour vol-
ley upon volley into this belligerent stranger, till her
color came down quite as quickly as it had gone up.
She had struck her flag to the " Alligator," and was.
248 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
so the commander considered, his lawful prize. In
his opinion, De Britto intended to commit an act of
piracy, and wished to plunder what he supposed to
be an unarmed merchantman. A prize crew was put
on board the "Marianna Flora," the sailors of that
vessel being confined in irons, and the order was
given to make sail for Boston, for adjudication. Seven
weeks were consumed in this winter voyage; and
dreary weeks they must have been to the miserable
Portuguese mariners, who lay fettered in the hold.
The case was brought before Judge Davis, of the Dis-
trict Court; the owners of the "Marianna Flora"
claiming that Stockton had committed an unlawful
act and demanding heavy damages. They brought
evidence which clearly established the fact that no
wrong was intended on the part of De Britto. He
had commenced and maintained his fire upon the
" Alligator " under the conviction that he was repel-
ling an enemy. To be sure, the American flag had
been displayed by Stockton; but then any pirate
might do that, and there was a naval ceremonial of
an affirming gun, which the " Alligator " was said to
have omitted. The decision of Judge Davis was in
favor of the claimants. The act of Stockton in send-
ing in the vessel, though perfectly conscientious, was
severe and unnecessary. Damages were awarded to
the owners of the Portuguese ship for the losses they
sustained, and to the crew for their seven weeks of
captivity.
An appeal was instantly taken, and the case was
brought before the Circuit Court, Judge Story being
SUPREME COURT AND THE " MARIANNA FLORA." 249
upon the bench. The decision of Judge Davis was
reversed. The capture being lawful, — for this the
lower court had admitted, — Stockton was justified in
sending the " Marianna Flora " to the United States
for adjudication. He might have released the vessel,
— possibly it might have been commendable to have
done so ; but he was not hound to grant such release,
and the whole question of damages was disposed of
by denying this obligation. So decided Judge Story.
Would the full Bench confirm that decision, and so
disperse the cloud which threatened the reputation
and fortune of Stockton ? The question was one of
painful interest to the friends of this brave officer,
and I felt unpleasantly nervous when my travelling
companion, Mr. John Knapp, began to open the case
for the Portuguese complainants and to reflect se-
verely upon the course of the commander of the
" Alligator." George Blake, the district attorney, re-
plied for Stockton, and (so says my journal) surprised
me by a power of speech which I did not suppose he
possessed. He had not finished when the hour for
adjournment arrived. Early Monday morning I re-
paired to the court-room, where I met Mr. Webster
and Mr. Blake, with their respective wives. "These
ladies would come to hear their husbands bestow
their dulness upon the Court," said Mr. Webster to
me ; " and now you shall take care of them and en-
tertain them, if we fail to do so." I was, accordingly,
seated by these ladies, who took such creditable
interest in the arguments that there was no occasion
to whisper social gossip for their diversion. Blake's
250 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
close was even better than his opening; and then
rose Webster, who proceeded against poor Mr. Knapp
with the confidence of a giant. " It is the aggressor"
he said, — and the indignant emphasis he threw upon
the word was in itself an argument, — " it is the ag-
gressor who comes before this Court masquerading in
the character of a plaintiff and asking redress for a
supposed injury done to himself." And then a pause,
that the absurdity of the position of his antagonist
might sink in and be vividly realized. " The capture
was made in repelling an act of piratical aggression,
for so Lieutenant Stockton supposed it to be; and
only a judicial examination could show that it might
have been otherwise. The suffering party had him-
self furnished the occasion for any discomfort to
which he may have been subjected. It was a dam-
num absque injuria — a damage without a wrong —
and it is futile to pretend that it was anything else."
So ran the drift of the argument, which was earnest
and eloquent and was not concluded till the follow-
ing day.
The final appeal for the plaintiffs was given by
Thomas Addis Emmett, then an old man (he died
the following year), but full of Irish fire and feeling.
My journal declares that his brogue, which was very
evident in the warmer passages, was a marked addi-
tion to their force and eloquence. Being a fellow-
boarder with Mr. Emmett, I had much conversation
with him. He had told me some of the romantic
incidents of his early manhood, which resulted in his
long imprisonment in Scotland and had finally ban-
SUPREME COURT AND THE " MARIANNA FLORA." 251
ished him from British soil. " I think him the most
interesting man of his age whom I have ever seen."
This is how I characterized him in my contemporary
record, after one of these free talks. What a pity, it
seemed to me, that he should be on the wrong side ;
for the right side was, of course, that of my friend,
Captain Stockton. But Emmett went at his work,
as I suppose a lawyer should, as if his side was the
right side, beyond all question. He began by laying
down the proposition that every ship navigating the
ocean in time of peace might appropriate to her
temporary use so much of its waters as she deemed
necessary for her protection. He drew a lively pic-
ture of the pirates which infested the seas, and de-
clared that, if the right to approach in invitum were
allowed, merchantmen might as well be broken up
for firewood. The conduct of the " Marianna Flora "
was justifiable. The first fault was committed by
the "Alligator," in not following the raising of her
flag with an affirming gun ; and then in approaching
the stranger against her consent. After the capture
the ship's papers should have shown Stockton that
his prize was an innocent merchantman, — armed,
indeed, against pirates, but armed for no purposes
of aggression. In substance this was the amount of
the plea for the plaintiffs. The wealth of illustra-
tion by which it was embellished and the earnest
and hearty rhetoric of the advocate there was no
phonograph to preserve.
The opinion of the Court was pronounced by Judge
Story, some weeks afterward, and may be read in the
252 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
eleventh volume of " Wheaton's Eeports." It vindi-
cated Captain Stockton. Mr. Emmett's doctrine of
non-approach was pronounced novel and unsupported
by authority. While every vessel had the right to
use so much of the ocean as was essential to her
movements, no exclusive right beyond this could be
recognized. A ship-of-war, like the " Alligator," sail-
ing under the authority of the government, might
approach any vessel descried at sea, for the purpose
of ascertaining her real character. The Court denied
that the mere fact of approach excused the hostile
attack of De Britto. He had said that he lay to
in order to meet a supposed enemy by daylight and
because he dreaded the peril of a night attack ; but
all this could not have been known to Stockton, who
was acting from a humane motive and in the line of
his duty. He was justified in taking possession of
the "Marianna Flora," because she attacked him
without cause or provocation.
This opinion delighted me at the time; to the
friends of Stockton it fully vindicated the wisdom of
the Court and the beneficence of the law which it
expounded ; but in re-reading it to-day, I find at one
point a lack of equity which, if the Court was power-
less to prevent, might at least have been noticed
with regret. How fared it with those unhappy sail-
ors who, through no fault of theirs, had made a seven
weeks' voyage in irons and to whom the District
Court had mercifully awarded five hundred dollars ?
Surely, if justice was to be wrought among men, these
unfortunates had claims upon somebody; but the
SUPREME COURT AND THE " MARIANNA FLORA." 253
learned judge remarked that in their case no privilege
of appeal was allowed, because the sum of five hun-
dred dollars was insufficient to entitle the parties in
interest to be heard before the Supreme Bench. A
mere bagatelle, truly ! Only a fraction of what Croe-
sus might spend for a single evening of festivity, yet
possibly as important to those roughly used mariners
as the larger stakes which opened the courts to the
capitalists, their employers. It is no disrespect to
the majesty of the law to mention that it has not yet
sloughed off all its barbarisms. So long as the pun-
ishment of a money fine is accepted from the rich
and the alternative imprisonment is exacted from the
poor, the equality of all men before the law is but a
sounding phrase. As for those Portuguese fellows
fettered in the hold, they ought to have known that
their sad plight was only a damnum absque injuria ;
and when they were prevented from following their
masters to the highest court, they should have con-
soled themselves with that sage morsel of law Latin,
Be minimis non curat lex.
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826.
I.
TAB. HOLMES has declared, with all the solemnity
-■— ' of verse, that, for reasons which to him are good
and sufficient, he never dares to write as funny as he
can. Following so excellent a precedent, I will con-
fess that I do not mean to make this paper on the
social life in Washington as entertaining as I could.
For hasty gossip and uncharitable strictures upon in-
dividuals (such as a young fellow may set down in a
journal intended for no eyes but his own) are cer-
tainly amusing ; but their publication, either by the
writer or his executors, is, as it seems to me, almost
never justifiable. The mention of the names of ladies,
even when one has nothing but what is pleasant to
say of them, is only to be sanctioned by a certain
unwritten statute of limitations, which, after the
lapse of half a century, seems to allow a certain dis-
cretion in this particular. It will, however, be neces-
sary to make but few reservations in telling what I
saw in Washington society in 1826.
And first come the dinners. On Friday, February
17, 1 find an account of a dinner at Mr. Webster's.
The occasion was absolutely informal and very pleas-
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 255
ant. Besides myself, Henry R Storrs, of New York,
and Eufus Greene Amory, of Boston, were the only
guests. Webster carved the beef and was in a charm-
ing humor. He told some good lawyer's stories, and
gave us a graphic account of the burning of his house
in Portsmouth, in the winter of 1813. (< Though I
was in Washington at the time," he said, " I believe
I know more about the fire than many who were
actively at work on the spot. Besides, here is Mrs.
Webster, who was burned out. She will correct me
if I am wrong." He told us that all he possessed in
the world was lost, there being no insurance upon
house or furniture ; but as more than two hundred
buildings were consumed in the fire, some of them
belonging to those less able to make a living than
himself, he felt he had no right to murmur. He was,
nevertheless, troubled about the loss of his library.
His books were full of notes and associations, and
could not be replaced.
" I think there was something in the house which
Mr. Webster regretted more than his books," said his
wife, with an amused expression, which showed her
remark was not to be taken quite seriously. " There
was a pipe of wine in the cellar, and I am sure that
Mr. Webster's philosophy has not yet reconciled him
to its loss. You see we were young housekeepers in
those days. It was the first pipe of wine we ever
had, and the getting it was a great event."
" Let us be accurate, my dear," said Mr. Webster,
with one of those pleasant smiles of his which fairly
lit up the room. " Undoubtedly it was a pipe of wine
256 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
when we bought it ; but then it had been on tap for
some time, and our table was not without guests. If
I had you upon the witness stand, I think I should
make you confess that your pipe of wine could
scarcely have been more than half a pipe at the time
of the fire."
I suppose that there was nothing said at that din-
ner so little worth preserving as this trifling family
jest ; yet the sweet and playful manner of Webster
has fixed it indelibly upon my memory. That manner
I cannot give, and it was everything. It somehow
carried one of those aside confessions of the absolute
affection and confidence existing between this married
pair which were so evident to those admitted beneath
their roof. A coDgenial marriage seems to be essen-
tial to the best development of a man of genius, and
this blessing rested upon that household. It was like
organ-music to hear Webster speak to or of the being
upon whom his affections reposed, and whom, alas S
he was so soon to lose. I am sure that those who
knew the man only when this tenderest relation had
been terminated by death, never knew him in his
perfect symmetry. Whatever evil-speakers might
choose to say about the subsequent career of Daniel
Webster, he was at that time " whole as the marble,
founded as the rock." He was on the happiest terms
with the world, which had crowned him with its
choicest blessing, and stood forth in all respects as an
example and a hero among men.
I will repeat an anecdote which I think that Web-
ster gave at that dinner, though, as I made no note
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 257
of it, it is just possible that he told it in my presence
at some later date. The conversation was running
upon the importance of doing small things thoroughly
and with the full measure of one's ability. This
Webster illustrated by an account of some petty in-
surance case that was brought to him when a young-
lawyer in Portsmouth. Only a small amount was
involved, and a twenty-dollar fee was all that was
promised. He saw that, to do his clients full justice,
a journey to Boston, to consult the Law Library,
would be desirable. He would be out of pocket by
such an expedition, and for his time he would receive
no adequate compensation. After a little hesitation,
he determined to do his very best, cost what it might.
He accordingly went to Boston, looked up the au-
thorities, and gained the case. Years after this,
Webster, then famous, was passing through New
York. An important insurance case was to be tried
the day after his arrival, and one of the counsel had
been suddenly taken ill. Money was no object, and
Webster was begged to name his terms and conduct
the case. " I told them," said Mr. Webster, " that it
was preposterous to expect me to prepare a legal ar-
gument at a few hours' notice. They insisted, how-
ever, that I should look at the papers ; and this, after
some demur, I consented to do. Well, it was my old
twenty-dollar case over again, and, as I never forget
anything, I had all the authorities at my fingers'
ends. The court knew that I had no time to pre-
pare, and were astonished at the range of my acquire-
ments. So, you see, I was handsomely paid both in
17
258 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
fame and money for that journey to Boston ; and the
moral is, that good work is rewarded in the end,
though, to be sure, one's own self-approval should he
enough."
I may be pardoned for taking from my journal of
later date another after-dinner story which I heard
Mr. Webster tell with great dramatic effect. One of
the party mentioned that a president of one of the
Boston banks had that morning redeemed a counter-
feit bill for fifty dollars, never doubting that his signa-
ture upon it was genuine. This incident led to a
discussion of the value of expert testimony in regard
to writing, the majority of our company holding it in
little esteem. Mr. Webster then came to the defence
of this sort of testimony, saying that he had found it
of much value, although experts were like children
who saw more than they were able to explain to
others. " And this reminds me," he said, " of my story
of the tailor. It was a capital case that was being
tried, and the tailor's testimony was very important.
He had been called to prove that he made a certain
coat for the criminal ; and he swore to the fact stoutly.
Upon cross-examination he was asked how he knew
that the coat was his work. ' Why, I know it by my
stitches, of course.' 'Are your stitches longer than
those of other tailors ? ' ' Oh, no ! ' ' Well, then, are
they shorter ? ' ' Not a bit shorter.' ' Anything pe-
culiar about them ? ' ' Well, I don't believe there is.'
1 Then how do you dare to come here and swear that
they are yours ? ' This seemed to be a poser, but
the witness met it triumphantlv. Casting a look of
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 250
contempt upon his examiner, the tailor raised both
hands to heaven and exclaimed, ' Good Lord ! as if I
did Tit know my own stitches ! ' The jury believed
him, and they were right in doing so. The fact is,
we continually build our judgment upon details too
fine for distinct cognizance. And these nice shades
of sensibility are trustworthy, although we can give
no good account of them. We can swear to our
stitches, notwithstanding they seem to be neither
longer nor shorter than those of other people."
I had been listening to Mr. Storrs that morning, in
the House of Eepresentatives, where he greatly dis-
tinguished himself, as I shall hereafter have occasion
to notice ; but if he said anything at the dinner, I
find no reference to it in my notes. Mr. Amory seems
to have made more impression upon me, and I men-
tion the amusing account he gave of his adventures
on the road from New York ; for there were adven-
tures ere the discovery of the art of packing travellers
like herrings in a box, and thus making their experi-
ences as identical as are those of the fishes so trans-
ported. Mr. Amory had undertaken the journey on
horseback, and had fallen among highwaymen, who
were as high-toned and chivalrous as those of the dime
novel. They took his money, indeed, and bound him
to a tree ; but these acts seem to have been strictly
professional, and he told how the thieves regretted,
with abundant courtesy, that they were compelled to
put an old gentleman to any inconvenience. " I an
old gentleman ! " exclaimed the narrator. " Could not
the fellows have been content with theft, without
260 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
adding libel ? " And the merry old soul led off a con-
tagious laugh at his own pleasantry. How the bonds
of Mr. Amory were finally loosed my journal does
not chronicle, so I must leave him tied to the tree,
confident that a reader of the slightest imagination
will find some good way to release him, and to bring
him safely to Mr. Webster's dinner-table.
I dined twice at the White House ; the first time
informally, with Charles King and Albert Gallatin.
The latter gentleman scarcely said anything, owing,
perhaps, to the constant and amusing utterances of the
President and Mr. King, who talked as if they were
under bonds to furnish entertainment for the party.
The next occasion was a state dinner, of forty ladies
and gentlemen, very splendid and rather stiff. My
place was next a pretty Miss Bullett, of Kentucky ;
but, to say the truth, the conversation rather dragged
between us, until I discovered that we had a mutual
friend in Larz Anderson, of Cincinnati. I had known
Larz well in college, and remember when he arrived
in Cambridge, a small, flaxen-haired boy, accompanied
by two companions from the distant West. They
had come all the way from Kentucky on horseback,
their effects being borne in saddle-bags behind the
riders. There was no public conveyance, the roads
were execrable, and this manly mode of travelling
was then the only way of getting to Harvard. Now,
I happened to have a story to tell about our friend
Anderson, which I felt sure would gratify the pride
of a Kentuckian ; and as I have not recorded a word
of what my fair neighbor said to me, I can only fall
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 261
back upon what I said to her, and the substance of
my tale might be written out thus : —
Oxford Street, in Cambridge, is at present a very-
decorous thoroughfare, not at all adapted to the wild
sport of turkey-shooting, for which purpose the ground
it occupies was used when I was in college. We
stood with our backs to the site of Memorial Hall,
and discharged rifles, at long range, at a turkey which
was dimly discernible in the distance. A small fee
was demanded for the privilege of shooting, and the
turkey was to be given to any one who could hit it.
But, except for some chance shot, like that made by
Mr. Tupman when out rook-shooting, it was safe to
predict that nobody would hit it. The usual end of
a Harvard turkey-shooting was the departure of the
proprietor of the turkeys with all his birds and all
our sixpences. Still there was the excitement of a
lottery about it, if nothing else. The ball, if dis-
charged, must strike somewhere ; and, if so, why
might it not happen to strike the tuikey ? The logic
was simply irresistible. A fowl of that magnitude
would be a most desirable addition to the meagre fare
furnished by the college commons ; and so the rifles
cracked, with small result to the students and splen-
did profits to the turkey-man. One day a little tow-
headed fellow appeared on the field, and desired to
take part in the sport. Though he seemed almost
too young to be trusted with a rifle, the master of
the fowls (foreseeing future gains) was quite willing
he should try. He must first receive proper instruc-
tions about the holding and pointing of his piece, and
262 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
then there would really be no danger. Young Larz
received the directions with great good nature, raised
the rifle, and down went the turkey. The man stared
in amazement, and then broke into a smile. " Try it
again, young one," said he. "'Most any one can
throw sixes once, you know." Another bird was
procured, the ball flew to the mark with the same
result, and a second turkey was added to the ban-
quet upon which his friends would regale. "Well,
where in " — the United States, let us call it — " did
you come from ? " exclaimed the master of fowls, who
began to realize that his occupation was gone.
" I came from the State of Kentucky, sir," answered
Larz Anderson, proudly ; " and next time you meet a
gentleman from that State, just remember there 's not
much you can tell him about a rifle. That 's all."
And thus it was that our good friend Anderson
broke the ice between pretty Miss Bullett and myself
at that solemn dinner of high state, fifty-five years
ago. I suppose the other eight-and-thirty people
found something to say .; but it is evident they were
not talking for posterity. Neither their words nor
their names appear in my journal. That record only
makes it evident that a state banquet of the period
was, in a general way, a frigid affair, but was capa-
ble, nevertheless, of considerable mitigation if one
were well launched in conversation with a fair young
lady from Kentucky.
I enjoyed the hospitality of the Vice-President,
who, contrary to custom, had come up to the capital
and was actually doing the work of his place. The
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 263
usage had been for the holders of this office to stay
quietly at home, draw their salaries, and allow some
senator to preside in the Upper House. But Calhoun
proclaimed that he would receive no emoluments
from an office without assuming its responsibilities,
and, whether constrained by this just sentiment or to
look sharply after his political fortunes, had estab-
lished himself at the capital and was one of its prin-
cipal figures. He was a striking-looking man, then
forty-four years old, with thick hair, brushed back
defiantly. He had joined the bitter opposition to
the administration ; and though his position pre-
vented him from publicly assaulting the President,
he ruled that John Eandolph was not to be called to
order for so doing. Mr. Calhoun, with the foresight
of a politician, was accustomed to make himself
agreeable to young men appearing in Washington
who might possibly rise to influence in their respec-
tive communities. It was probably with a view to
such a contingency that he favored me with a long
dissertation upon public affairs. He never alluded
to the subject of slavery, though it was easy to see
that reference to this interest shaped his opinions
about tariffs, state rights, internal improvements, and
other questions, with which, on the surface, it had
small connection. The concluding words of this ag-
gressive Democrat made an ineffaceable impression
upon my mind. They were pronounced in a subdued
tone of esoteric confidence, such as an ancient augur
might have used to a neophyte in his profession.
Substantially they were these : " Now, from what I
264 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
have said to you, I think you will see that the in-
terests of the gentlemen of the North and those of the
South are identical." I can quote no utterance more
characteristic of the political Washington of twenty-
six than this. The inference was that the " glittering
generalizations " of the Declaration were never meant
to be taken seriously. Gentlemen were the natural
rulers of America, after all. It has taken all the suc-
ceeding half-century to reach a vital belief that the
people, and not gentlemen (using the word, of course,
in its common and narrow sense), are to govern this
country. It will take much more than another half-
century before the necessary and (in the end) benefi-
cent consequences of this truth shall be fully realized.
I may here mention that I have rarely met a lady so
skilful in political discussion as was Miss Calhoun,
the daughter of the Vice-President. I do not feel
certain that it was during this visit to the capital
that I made her acquaintance, — it may have been at
a subsequent period ; but I well remember the clear-
ness with which she presented the Southern view of
the situation, and the ingenuity with which she
parried such objections as I was able to present.
The fashionable ladies of the South had received the
education of political thought and discussion to a
degree unknown among their sisters of the North.
"She can read bad French novels and play a few
tunes on the piano," said a cynical friend of mine
concerning a young lady who had completed the
costly education of a fashionable school in New
York ; " but, upon my word, she does not know
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 265
whether she is living in a monarchy or a republic."
The sneer would never have applied to the corre-
sponding class at the South. These ladies were
conversant with political theories, and held definite
political opinions. Yes, and they had the courage
of their opinions too, as the war abundantly testi-
fied.
One of the pleasantest dinners that I attended in
Washington took place at Miss Hyer's boarding-
house. It was given by the gentlemen lodgers, who,
by a small subscription, added a few dishes to the
ordinary bill of fare. Mr. Webster and Senator Mills,
of Massachusetts, were among the guests, and when,
after the removal of the cloth, some Bordeaux wine
was added to the customary Madeira, the conversation
was easy and animated. It was Mr. Webster's say-
ing that dinners were agreeable in inverse ratio to
their state and formality, and on this occasion he
certainly proved that French cooking and cut-glass
were no necessary adjuncts to a brilliant party.
For the benefit of younger readers, it may be well
to mention that the use of wine and spirit was practi-
cally universal at the time of which I am speaking.
Nobody thought it possible to dine without one or
the other. At the boarding-houses and hotels every
guest had his bottle or his interest in a bottle. In
the early days of the Sound steamers, decanters of
brandy, free to all, were placed upon the table, as
part of the provision necessary for a meal. What
a beneficent change in public sentiment has been
wrought ! Much as yet remains to be done, the ad-
266 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
vocates of temperance should be full of courage, by
remembering what has been accomplished.
As the present paper has had so much concern
with Mr. Webster, I will conclude it by giving an
incident which occurred some years afterward, and
which will show the overwhelming effect which his
mere personal presence wrought upon men. The
route between Boston and New York by the way of
New Haven had just been opened, and I was occu-
pying a seat with Mr. Webster when the cars stopped
at the latter city. Mr. Webster was not quite well,
and, saying that he thought it would be prudent to
take some brandy, asked me to accompany him in
search of it. We accordingly entered a bar-room
near the station, and the order was given. The at-
tendant, without looking at his customer, mechani-
cally took a decanter from a shelf behind him and
placed it near some glasses on the counter. Just as
Webster was about to help himself, the bar-tender,
happening to look up, started, as if he had seen a
spirit, and cried " Stop ! v with great vehemence. He
then took the decanter from Webster's hand, replaced
it on the shelf whence it came, and disappeared
beneath the counter. Kising from these depths, he
bore to the surface an old-fashioned black bottle,
which he substituted for the decanter. Webster
poured a small quantity into a glass, drank it off
with great relish, and threw down half a dollar in
payment. The bar-keeper began to fumble in a
drawer of silver, as if selecting some smaller pieces for
change; whereupon Webster waved his hand with
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 267
dignity, and with rich and authoritative tones pro-
nounced these words : " My good friend, let me offer
you a piece of advice. Whenever you give that good
brandy from under the counter, never take the trou-
ble to make change." As we turned to go out, the
dealer in liquors placed one hand upon the bar, threw
himself over it, and caught me by the arm. " Tell
me who that man is ! " he cried with genuine emo-
tion. " He is Daniel Webster," I answered. The
man paused, as if to find words adequate to convey
the impression made upon him, and then exclaimed
in a fervent half-whisper, " By Heaven, sir, that man
should he President of the United States ! " The ad-
juration was stronger than I have written it; but it
was not uttered profanely, — it was simply the em-
phasis of an overpowering conviction. The incident
was but a straw upon the current ; but it illustrates
the commanding magnetism of Webster. Without
asking the reason, men once subjected to his spell
were compelled to love, to honor, and (so some cynics
would wish to add) to forgive him. No man of mark
ever satisfied the imagination so completely. The
young men of to-day who go to Washington find a
city of luxurious appointments and noble buildings,
very different from the capital of muddy streets and
scattered houses with which I was familiar. But
where is the living figure, cast in heroic mould, to
represent the ideal of American manhood ? Can the
capital of to-day show anything so majestic and in-
spiring as was Daniel Webster in the Washington of
1826?
268 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
II.
The evening parties of Washington were the social
features of the place at the time of my visit. The
company assembled about eight, and began to break
up shortly after eleven, having enjoyed the recrea-
tions of dancing, card-playing, music, or conversation.
Everybody in the city who occupied the necessary
social position appeared at these gatherings ; and, be-
ing at the age when the tinsel of Vanity Fair is at its
full glitter, I enjoyed them highly. My first Wash-
ington party was at Mrs. Wirt's, where I was taken
as a stranger by Mr. and Mrs. Webster. My journal
mentions the ladies who impressed me sufficiently
to appear in its record. I talked, it seems, with Miss
Henry, a descendant of the Virginian orator ; and with
Miss Wirt, the daughter of the house. Both these
ladies impressed me very favorably, and I tell how
the former played finely upon the piano and harp and
sang simple songs, to the satisfaction of the guests.
Mrs. David Hoffman, of Baltimore, I describe as
* pretty, learned, and agreeable." With her I have a
brief talk, and am then presented to a lady whose
beauty was the admiration of Washington and whose
name was, consequently, upon every tongue, — at
least something like her name ; for society had de-
creed that this fair woman should be known as Mrs.
Florida White, her husband being a delegate from our
most southern territory. And splendid in her beauty
Mrs. White undoubtedly was, and it was only natural
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826 269
that the impressible young gentleman from Boston
should feel highly gratified when she proposed to
promenade the rooms with him, and that he should
emphasize this fortunate circumstance in the account
he gives of Mrs. Wirt's party.
Next comes my notice of a ball, at which I first saw
a lady who at that period was the acknowledged chief
of the elegant and fashionable young women of our
country.
"February 16, 1826. — I spent this evening at a
ball given by Mrs. Johnston, of Louisiana. I was to
have gone there with Everett ; but the death of his
brother prevented him from appearing. Accordingly
I accompanied Mr. Cheves, and found a crowd in
comparison with which all other crowds that I have
experienced sink into nothing. We were jammed so
closely that it was impossible to see the faces of those
who stood at our sides. I had a striking exemplifica-
tion of this fact by finding a lady hanging upon my
arm who was unable to look up to see who I was. I,
on my part, exerted all my skill in craniology in a
vain attempt to discover who she might be. It was
only after a considerable time that we made each
other out. The lady proved to be a Mrs. Atkinson,
from Louisville, and a good laugh we had together on
discovering the mistake. As there was no dancing,
I contented myself with moving in the current round
the room, first conducting Mrs. White, and afterward
Mrs. Hoffman. By the latter lady I was introduced
to Miss Cora Livingston ; and I must be able to paint
the rose to describe a lady who undoubtedly is the
270 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
greatest belle in the United States. In the first
place, she is not handsome, — I mean not transcen-
dently handsome. She has a fine figure, a pretty face,
dances well, and dresses to admiration. It is the
height of the ton to be her admirer, and she is cer-
tainly the belle of the country. Mrs. Livingston, the
mother, is a fine-looking woman, extremely polite and
well-bred. She seems to be wholly absorbed in her
daughter, and is constantly watching her movements."
I suppress much that might be said about my ac-
quaintance with this charming Miss Cora. That I
was greatly fascinated with her my journal confesses
upon nearly every page. I called on her betimes the
morning after Mrs. Johnston's ball (I had fortunately
letters to her father), attended her to other balls, vis-
ited her frequently, and was fairly to be numbered in
her large circle of admirers. At the public ball at
Carracci's Assembly Eooms, where all Washington
was present, I note my gratification in the honor done
me by Miss Cora in reserving for me the first cotillon,
and add that, " as a matter of course, every one gath-
ered about our set, to admire the grace of my fair
partner." And, the dance being finished, I tell how I
walked about the room with her, and how she gra-
ciously introduced me to several of the lesser beau-
ties. " And now," said she, " I am going to perform
one of the greatest acts of heroism of which a woman
can be capable. I am going to present you to my
rival." So saying, Miss Cora divided a group of gen-
tlemen, who had gathered about Miss Catherine Van
Rensselaer, of Albany, — "a tall, genteel girl," says
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 271
my journal laconically, * and said to have a fine mind
and a rich father." This lady, it appears, was consid-
ered a belle who might possibly compete with Miss
Livingston ; but if I did not warmly protest against
the possibility of the rivalship that was hinted at, I
was far less enthralled with this latter lady than the
evidence before me seems to indicate. I puzzled that
night over the mystery of the attraction exercised
by this exquisite specimen of womanhood, and wrote
out a theory upon the subject, which is too crude for
quotation. When I took leave of Miss Cora, on
leaving Washington, there was perhaps a little feel-
ing on both sides. We had been much together —
meeting nearly every day, in fact — and in an inno-
cent way had become very pleasantly intimate. We
acknowledged that we might never meet again : Bos-
ton and New Orleans were then far apart ; and so the
lady turned, I suppose, to the scores of young fellows
who were coveting her smiles, and I bore away an
image of loveliness and grace never to be erased.
But we did meet again ; and if the reader will kindly
suppose thirty years to have elapsed, I will tell him
how. From this shelf of old journals I select the
volume for 1856, and open to the record of Saturday,
the 30th of August. I am now with some friends on
the North Biver, and am taken to Montgomery Place,
to see the fine arboretum belonging to Mr. Barton.
And Mr. Barton himself meets us at the door of his
house, and, although lame from the gout, walks with
us about the garden, and points out his choicest trees.
At last comes the invitation which fills me with a ner-
272 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
vous apprehension : " Will you come into the house
and see Mrs. Barton ? " Yes, I was to see what re-
mained of the lovely Cora Livingston. The picture
of what she had been was perfect in my mind and
remains so to-day. " Surely, never lighted on this
orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more de-
lightful vision ! " Burke's famous apostrophe to the
Queen of France is none too good for the queen of
American society in 1826. She was as graceful as a
bird, and her step was so elastic that, as Hawthorne
says of one of his characters, motion seemed as easy
to her as rest. I will not describe the old lady, in
cap and dress of studied simplicity, to whom I was
presented by Mr. Barton. My nap had lasted ten
years longer than Rip Van Winkle's, and this was the
penalty. The reflections which arise under such cir-
cumstances have been written for all time by the
author of Ecclesiastes, and it is unnecessary to repeat
them. " You would not have known me ! " said Mrs.
Barton. I could only be silent. "Come into the
next room, then, and you shall see the Cora Living-
ston you knew in Washington." A full-length por-
trait of a young lady, in a ball dress, hung upon the
wall. Yes, fixed upon the artist's canvas was the
lovely being who shone upon the society of the capi-
tal thirty years before. I wonder where that portrait
is now, and whether those who may daily see it have
a proper sense of their privilege ! Some years ago the
venerable Mrs. Barton passed to the world of spirits ;
but before her death an arrangement was made by
which the four folio Shakespeares she possessed came
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 273
to the Boston City Library. Interesting old volumes
they are ; highly prized by the many owners through
whose ringers they have slipped ; and containing, as
we all know, some good descriptions of what is de-
lightful in woman. But there will be one association
the less with them when I am no longer able to climb
the stairs which lead to Bates Hall. There will be
no one left to tell how their last private possessor
once seemed to fill the most perfect outline of a
charming woman that the poet has drawn.
And now let us go back again to the Washington
of 1826. At the public ball of which I have spoken
I saw the waltz introduced into society for the first
time. The conspicuous performer was Baron Stackel-
burg, who whirled through its mazes with a huge pair
of dragoon spurs bound to his heels. The danger of
interfering with the other dancers, which seemed
always imminent, was skilfully avoided by the Baron,
who received a murmur of appreciative applause as
he led his partner to her seat. The question of the
decorum of this strange dance was distinctly raised
upon its first appearance, and it was nearly twenty-
five years later before remonstrances ceased to be
heard. How far the waltz, and its successors of a
similar character, may be compatible with feminine
modesty, is a question which need not here be dis-
cussed. It is sufficient to say that, socially speaking,
it has proved an unmitigated nuisance. It has utterly
routed the intellectual element that was once con-
spicuous even in fashionable gatherings. It has not
only given society over to the young and inexperi-
18
274 FIGUKES OF THE PAST!
enced, but, by a perverse process of unnatural selec-
tion, it has pushed to the front by no means the best
specimens of these.
I find in my journal an account of a ball at the
house of Baron Durand de Mareuil, the French
minister. The decorations were very elegant and
displayed the perfection of French taste. I mention
talking with Miss Morphin, of Kentucky, Miss Tay-
loe, and other young ladies ; also my introduction to
Mrs. A. and Miss B. (for these initials will do to rep-
resent them), — " the former being a beautiful creature,
who is bound to a great, clumsy fellow of a husband ;
the latter very pretty, but ignorant of everything ex-
cept accomplishments, and vain and susceptible of
flattery to any amount." It is thus that our fair
sisters are sometimes entered in the private records
of young gentlemen. But the finest ball I attended
was given by Mr. Vaughan, the English minister.
Here the dancing was in a large room on the second
floor, in order that the lower hall might be given up
to the supper. A table of liberal dimensions, pro-
fusely laden and constantly replenished, was the
feature of the evening. Another ball at Mr. Obre-
gon's, the Mexican minister's, " given under the pat-
ronage of Mrs. and Miss Livingston," is duly recorded,
as well as many lesser parties, by persons holding no
official position. It is unnecessary, however, to give
further particulars of these festivities. Many agree-
able and sensible people, both men and women, were
to be met. The society was exclusive and a proper
introduction was rigorously required. General Jack-
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 275
son's administration swept away much of the graceful
etiquette which was characteristic of the society as I
saw it. Then set in the era of universal hand-shaking
with everybody who could get to Washington, and
social barriers were carried by the unrefined and
coarse. Gambling was considered a reputable pas-
time for gentlemen, and a room at most parties was
reserved for this purpose. Card-playing for high
stakes was usual among prominent politicians and
men in office. The enormous increase of wealth
without labor which had come to fortunate specu-
lators since the peace of 1815 seemed to make the
invocation of chance almost a legitimate business.
It was said that an original proprietor of a single
share in the Charlestown Bridge Company had re-
ceived in 1826 not only principal and interest, but
a surplus of $7,000. Certain lands in Pennsylvania,
purchased in 1814 at sixty- two cents an acre, were
selling at $400 an acre. Such facts as these, and
many similar to them, in which the gains were not
so enormous, seemed to make speculation honorable
and respectable, and the controlling spirit of the time
found one of its outlets in games of chance.
Among the notable matrons whom I met in Wash-
ington, perhaps the first place must be accorded to
Mrs. Peter, of Georgetown. She was a granddaughter
of Mrs. Washington, an intelligent and ardent Fed-
eralist, and from the heights of Tudor Place looked
down upon the democratic administrations of Jeffer-
son and his successors in a spirit of scornful protest.
She was accustomed to speak of them as "our pres-
276 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ent rulers," much as a French Eepublican under the
Second Empire might have spoken of the men who
had seized his country against its better will. This
patriotic lady had named her three daughters America,
Columbia, and Britannia, — the latter, it was said, as
a significant rebuke to the Gallic proclivities of the
third President. Of these young ladies the name of
Miss America alone appears in my journal. When
presented to her, I could not avoid an awkward and
yet comical consciousness of the august nationality
which the lady in some sort symbolized. An intro-
duction, followed by the usual sequences, seemed
almost such a desecration as one would be guilty
of who proposed to shake hands with the Goddess of
Liberty and entertain her with ball-room gossip. If
my memory is to be trusted, Mrs. Peter's appearance
in Washington society was confined to extra-official
circles. For a quarter of a century the good lady
had hoped against hope for a Federal President, in
whose court she might conscientiously assume the
commanding place to which descent and talents en-
titled her. Our hold upon political parties is now
so narrowed that it is difficult to realize the uncom-
promising sternness with which the original Federal-
ists kept the faith. To them party had the character
of a church or a religion ; and I cannot better illus-
trate this last remark than by quoting the words of
Elisha E. Potter, of Ehode Island, a gentleman whom
I constantly met at Miss Hyer's table in Washington,
and with whom I made part of my journey home.
He had been a member of Congress in the last cen-
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 277
tury, and had served again during the War of 1812.
He was one day giving me a pathetic description of
the gradual fading out of the Federal party, and of the
pluck with which the standard was followed after
the day was lost. " I remember a time," he said,
" when we found ourselves in a minority of eleven,
and some timid soul had called a sort of meeting,
to see whether it were worth while to continue the
opposition. Some were disposed to be dispirited, and
I was asked to say a few words to brace them up.
Well, it came upon me to say only this : ' Friends,
just remember that we are as many as the Apostles
were after Judas had deserted them. Think what
they did, and fight it out' That did the business.
We did fight it out and fell fighting for the good
cause." There spoke the uncompromising spirit of
Federalism.
Mr. Potter was one of the largest men I have ever
seen, excepting, of course, the professional giants in
the service of Mr. Barnum. He told me that he
generally paid for two seats in a stage-coach, and
suffered much if he neglected to do so. But the wit
and intelligence of the man were in fair proportion
to his goodly bulk. I had taken the pains to write
out a humorous story of his illustrative of Washing-
ton life ; but my literary adviser inexorably draws
his pen through it, as not adapted to general perusal.
Mr. Potter was one of the men who carry about them
a surplus of vital energy, to relieve the wants of
others. The absurd inquiry whether life were worth
living never suggested itself in his presence. I well
278 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
remember how the faces about Miss Hyer's dining-
table were wont to be lighted up when he entered
the room. He was said to have been a blacksmith
in his early days, and the occupation probably con-
firmed his robust frame and gave his cheery self-
reliance a substantial physical basis. Mr. Potter
seemed to carry about with him a certain homespun
certificate of authority, which made it natural for
lesser men to accept his conclusions. Oddly enough,
I have met only one other individual who impressed
me as possessing the same sort of personal power,
and he was one whose place in history is certain
when the lives of greater and better men are covered
by oblivion ; for the muse of history postpones the
claims of statesmen and poets to those of the founders
of religions, who, for good or evil, are more potent
factors in the destiny of mankind. Hereafter I may
give an account of my visit to Joseph Smith, in his
holy city of Nauvoo. It is now sufficient to mention
that when I made the acquaintance of the Mormon
prophet I was haunted with a provoking sense of
having known him before ; or, at least, of having
known some one whom he greatly resembled. And
then followed a painful groping and peering " in the
dark backward and abysm of time," in search of a
figure that was provokingly undiscoverable. At last
the Washington of 1826 came up before me, and the
form of Elisha E. Potter thrust itself through the
gorges of memory. Yes, that was the man I was
seeking ; yet the resemblance, after all, could scarcely
be called physical, and I am loath to borrow the
WASHINGTON SOCIETY IN 1826. 279
word " impressional " from the vocabulary of spirit
mediums. Both were of commanding appearance,
men whom it seemed natural to obey. Wide as were
the differences between the lives and characters of
these Americans, there emanated from each of them
a certain peculiar moral stress and compulsion which
I have never felt in the presence of others of their
countrymen. The position of Mr. Potter in his native
State has now faded to a dim tradition. It was of the
authoritative kind which belongs to men who bear
from nature the best credentials. His address to the
freemen of the State of Ehode Island, published in
1810, is good reading to-day. There is no document
of as many pages so illustrative of the best sentiment
and best spirit of the time. The style is that of a
man not quite accustomed to easy writing ; but there
is always dignity in its somewhat rugged periods, and
the address glows with an honorable self-respect,
which is not too common in the communications of
politicians with their constituents. I gladly close
these records of Washington society by recalling a
figure so typical of a noble American manhood.
THE HOUSE OF BEPKESENTATIVES.
HHHE popular branch of the national legislature
-*■ was the most interesting sight that the capital
had to offer to those who journeyed thither in 1826.
The day of read speeches (prepared, perhaps, by per-
sons outside of Congress) had not arrived ; neither
had it occurred to any one to ask leave to print prosy
documents which had not even been read. The ex-
citement of brisk debates, conducted by able men,
was constantly to be had ; and the elaborate speeches
were eloquent or logical appeals, designed to make or
change votes. My very first morning in Washington
was devoted to the House, and the discussion gave
me the opportunity of hearing Webster make one of
those massive appeals for loyalty to the spirit, as well
as the letter, of the Constitution which distinguished
his public career.
A movement to put a breakwater in the Delaware
was in contemplation, and, as a means toward the
successful prosecution of this end, Miner, of Penn-
sylvania, introduced a resolution requesting the Presi-
dent to lay before Congress a statement to show the
net amount of revenue derived from imposts and ton-
nage from ports within the Bay of Delaware for the
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 281
a
past thirty-four years. Also the President was re-
quested to furnish the amount of expenditures for
lighthouses, beacons, and other public works made in
that bay. This was to be followed by like informa-
tion in respect to receipts and expenditures within
the Bay of Chesapeake, as well as similar figures
appertaining to the harbor of New York. Now, the
request for the increase of knowledge embodied in
these resolutions seemed to me so harmless and even
so laudable that I marvelled at the evident displeas-
ure of Webster while they were being read. Could
it be that his practised eye had detected a cat con-
cealed in this measure of apparently innocent meal ?
It was even so, and the moment the reading ceased
the great man rose, and, with the air of one not to be
trifled with, demanded full information of the mo-
tives with which the call had been made. And so the
motives had to appear, though the mover of the reso-
lution covered them with all the gloss of which they
were susceptible. The hard fact was that the Dela-
ware breakwater was wanted by his constituents, and
he thought that these revenue statistics would estab-
lish a claim which Congress could be moved to recog-
nize. Was it not pertinent, he asked, to show how the
receipts and expenditures of this commercial district
compared with those of others ? " No," exclaimed
Webster ; " not if you mean us to infer that, because
the port of Philadelphia has yielded such and such
sums to the revenue, it is therefore entitled to have
its wishes complied with in the matter of the break-
water. I oppose a call based upon such principles."
282 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
And then he added with a mighty scorn, which
seemed to settle the question, " They are the very
essence of local legislation ! " Whereupon Wurts, of
Pennsylvania, came to the assistance of his colleague,
and (to follow out the metaphor) smoothed the meal
so carefully over the pussy, whose slumbers had been
disturbed, that it almost seemed doubtful whether
she could still be beneath that placid surface. An
amendment was, of course, proposed, and the debate
became general, Wood, of New York, and other mem-
bers taking part in it. The closing speech was made
by Webster, and was pointed and effective. He began
by disclaiming any hostility to the breakwater. The
project, on its own merits, deserved serious considera-
tion. But he wanted no information concerning the
revenue collected in the port of Philadelphia. That
revenue was paid wherever consumers of the im-
ported products happened to reside. "The gentle-
men in charge of this resolution," said Webster, with
his imperative emphasis, " are pushing the argument
of State against State ; and I bar all such reasoning."
He proceeded to a reductio ad absurdum, sarcastically
proposing to find out how much revenue was received
at other ports, and then to make appropriations to
each correspond to the figures of the custom-houses.
" If the breakwater is wanted," he concluded, " let it
be shown on other grounds. If it is wanted at all,
it is wanted as a great noMonal work and must be
urged upon great national considerations" As soon
as Webster resumed his seat the question was called,
and the resolutions rejected by a handsome majority.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 283
The speech was absolutely unprepared, and was not
a great one; but it was eminently characteristic of
the man. It illustrated that exquisite sensitiveness
to any disrespect to the paramount majesty of the
Union, which would allow no slur, however subtle
and indirect, to pass unchallenged.
On the morning of Thursday, February 16, the gal-
leries of the House were filled at an early hour. It was
known that the most sensational orator of the time,
George Macduffie, of South Carolina, a bitter opponent
of the administration, was to ask a hearing of his
countrymen. The occasion gained interest from the
fact that a young lady to whom the orator was very
attentive, and whom, I believe, he afterward married,
was conspicuous in the gallery. " See ! there is
Miss opposite. Depend upon it, Mr. Macduffie
will outdo himself to-day," said one of the ladies of
my party, as we took our seats. And these same
ladies whom I attended were Miss Mease and Miss
Helen ; the former remarkable for her powers of con-
versation, the latter a niece of Mrs. Adams, whom I
had often met in Quincy.
Macduffie was certainly an orator, if earnestness
and fluency can make one. His effort (and it may
well be so called, for he gesticulated all over) lasted
the greater part of two days, and was always lively,
if never conclusive. He was not guilty of sawing
the air with his hand, after the manner which Ham-
let deprecates, for he preferred to pound that element
with tightly clenched fists. " Will not those fists oi
Mr. Macduffie fly off and hit somebody ? " whispered
284 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Miss Helen to me, during one of the tempests or, as I
may say, whirlwinds of his passion. Such were the
remarks of the friends of the administration upon the
over-emphasis of this high-talking Southerner.
To understand the motive of this violent speech, it
is necessary to remember that in 1824 the choice of
President fell upon the House of Kepresentatives,
and an executive was elected to whom a majority
of the electors and presumably of the people were
opposed ; in other words, the majority of the House
had overruled the majority of the nation. Here was
a situation capable of rhetorical treatment of the in-
tensest sort ; and the fact that the administration of
Mr. Adams was one of the most honorable which the
nation has enjoyed had no power to stay the sound
and fury of partisan calumny. The House had re-
solved itself into a Committee of the Whole on the
State of the Union, and was sitting to consider cer-
tain resolutions formally moved by the gentleman
from South Carolina. It was proposed to amend the
Constitution, so that a uniform system of voting by
districts should be established in the States, and to
prevent the election of President from ever devolving
upon either branch of Congress. Under the guise of
an amendment to the Constitution, a proposition was
made to alter the relation between the States upon
which the original compact of union had been based ;
and this because, after nine successful presidential
elections, there had come one failure. As the report
of Macduffle's speech may be read in the Congres-
sional Eecords of the time, I shall attempt no sketch
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 285
of its argument. The drift of it was that, because of
the idolatrous homage rendered to the Constitution,
the rights of minorities were in grievous peril, and
this was a matter of serious concern to this very
democratic slaveholder ; but, after all, he argued, the
Constitution was aimed at ascertaining the popular
voice in the election of President, and, if it missed
the mark, it must of course be set to rights. And
then the equality of representation of the States in
the Upper House was glanced at, and pronounced a
wrong which the larger communities would not always
tolerate. " In throwing the election into the House,"
said the orator, " we expose ourselves to those arts of
political courtship which the ambitious have ever
been prone to practise. The little arts of a dinner
or a condescending smile are the means by which
cunning aspirants address themselves to the vanity
and foibles of those who fall within the sphere of
their fascination. The People [properly spelt by the
reporter with a large P] cannot be reached by these
arts ! " And then Macduffie went on to show how
Mr. Adams, destitute of the confidence of this vir-
tuous and discriminating People, would be forced to
buttress himself with patronage, and to introduce a
corrupt civil service, like that employed by the Eo-
man emperors. How has history answered these
unworthy surmises ? Three years later the People
seated Andrew Jackson in the presidential chair, and
the pure and efficient civil service maintained by
President Adams was degraded to a position which
is the shame of America to this day.
286 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Mr. Macduffie's harangue, though one of the famous
incidents of the time, would be scarcely worth the
notice here accorded to it were it not necessary in
order to emphasize my delight with the reply of
Henry E. Storrs, of New York. "A very masterly
speech," says my journal. " He spoke like a states-
man, and commanded the attention of the House by
his manly eloquence and cogent reasoning. He de-
scended to none of the meretricious arts to provoke
applause, but met the full responsibilities of the situ-
ation." I had never heard a parliamentary speech
that was so vigorous, or which seemed to come from
a man so thoroughly equipped. Storrs swept down
upon Macduffie's hasty assertion that the Constitu-
tion was aimed simply at ascertaining the popular
voice in the election of President. The pure demo-
cratic principle was to be found in no branch of the
government, not even in the House of Eepresenta-
tives. The nation was based upon a mixed principle,
in which the rights of independent States were com-
mingled with those of the people at large. And then
came a cutting proposition to the Southern gentle-
man, who, in his enthusiasm for pure democracy, was
disposed to sink the rights guaranteed to the States
as separate communities. With telling effect Storrs
pointed his finger at the peculiar Southern institution,
and showed that its stability would be at an end the
moment that the people of all the States were melted
into one mass, and the voters of the South had no
advantage in representation. He begged that Mac-
duffie would proceed to complete his amendment on
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 287
his own principles, and abolish a state of things which
gave the white men of his section a much greater
weight than those of the North. The argumentum
ad hominem was never more remorselessly put, and
the " sensation " which ran along the galleries was
a deserved tribute to the acumen and eloquence of
the member from New York. Mr. Storrs was, after
Daniel Webster, the most impressive man in a Con-
gress which fairly represented the best intelligence of
the country. To hear him speak was to carry away
a lasting memory of eloquence and ability ; yet, for
some reason, he missed the position of conspicuous
leadership which men of far less power have easily
maintained. His friends used to account for this by
saying that Storrs had a judicial way of looking all
round a subject, which deprived him of that absorb-
ing enthusiasm for one particular view of it upon
which political prominence depends. His reasoning,
they said, was strong enough to convince every one
but himself; but he could never believe that his own
arguments quite closed a question, and he was sincere
enough to let the world know that this was the case.
A biography of Mr. Storrs was once in contemplation.
It was to have been the joint work of William C.
Noyes and William H. Bogart, and the latter has told
us that, after the death of Mr. Noyes, the journal of
Mr. Storrs had been given to the Buffalo Historical
Society. Whether it has ever been published I have
no knowledge.
I was fortunate in hearing the elaborate speech by
William S. Archer, of Virginia, upon the Macduftie
288 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
resolutions, as it was a fine specimen of Southern elo-
quence, as well as very sensible in its general drift-
The name of this gentleman was seldom mentioned
without the addition of an adjective borrowed from
Dr. Young's " Night Thoughts," a poem which at that
time was familiar to everybody who read poetry at
all. " Insatiate Archer ! would not one suffice ? " sung
the royal chaplain, thus apostrophizing the last
enemy of man. The quotation was altogether too
felicitous to escape attention when the member from
the Old Dominion made more speeches than were
thought necessary upon some question before the
House ; and so it came to pass that in the social
Washington of 1826 it was as natural to speak of
Insatiate Archer as of Daniel Webster or of Henrv
Clay. Mr. Archei's rhetoric, though a little too bril-
liant for Northern taste, was certainly effective, and
his unequivocal condemnation of the radical changes
in the Constitution which Macduffie had demanded
was sustained by a vigorous argument. Neverthe-
less, about the matter upon which the feeling of the
day was most excited he was with his friend from
South Carolina. He saw small hope for the Union
unless the Constitution were so far amended as to
prevent the election of President from devolving
upon either branch of Congress. Waxing very elo-
quent over the perilous jurisdiction of the House in
the appointment of the executive magistrate, he fin-
ished a compromise speech which commanded the
attention, as it largely appealed to the sympathies,
of his audience.
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 289
The gallery of the old House of Eepresentatives
was, in fact, not a gallery at all, it being simply a
platform, raised a foot or two above the floor of the
hall, which gave the honorable members an excellent
opportunity of attending to the ladies who had come
to listen to them. The huge pillars by which it was
dividfed rendered it difficult to secure a place from
which trie whole assembly could be seen, and it fol-
lowed that it was highly important to know who the
speakers were to be before selecting seats. It was a
serious drawback to the interest of a debate that some
of the participants must necessarily be concealed ; but
then the debates were interesting enough to over-
come this drawback, for Congress was at that time
fairly thrust up to the true theory of its character,
and it was an education to have the freedom of the
galleries. Men who could think on their feet and
who were keen to take advantage of any slip in the
arguments of their opponents were sent as the ablest
mouthpieces of different phases of public sentiment.
To a New Englander, a debate in the House was like
a glorified town-meeting. There was all the alert-
ness of mind which is so conspicuous in that primal
assembly, accompanied with an ability which could
fairly grapple with the national problems presented
for solution. Prejudice and passion, of course, there
were ; but the unjust war upon the administration
was well fought. From their point of view, the as-
sailing partisans were patriotic men. Grant the
premises that the Southern States were their country
and slavery was its life-blood, and their favorite epi-
1S
290 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
tbet, "chivalrous," need not be withheld from the lead-
ing spirits of the opposition. Men will soon come
to believe what they wish to believe. A few down-
right phrases of Mr. Adams (" Paralyzed by the will
of our constituents " was one of them) were torn from
their context to represent him as a monarchist con-
spiring against the liberties of the nation. Meantime
the " Old Eoman " (as Jackson was absurdly called)
was inarching upon the straggling provincial town
which then did duty as the capital. He would re-
ward his friends and punish his enemies, who were
also, of course, the friends and enemies of mankind.
The verdict of history has already been given upon
the administration of the younger President Adams.
It was tried as by fire, and came out as gold from
the furnace.
THEOUGH BALTIMOEE TO BOSTON.
AT seven o'clock on the morning of the 4th of
March, 1826, all the company at Miss Hyer's
boarding-house made their appearance at an uncom-
fortably early breakfast, to take leave of Martin
Brimmer, of Boston, Captain Zantzinger, and myself,
who were booked to leave Washington by the early
stage. The breakfast, however, might as well have
been postponed to a more seasonable hour, for the
stage did not appear for an hour after it was due,
and, to say the truth, did not appear even then.
What did arrive was a nondescript sort of conveyance,
which looked more like a hearse upon a gigantic scale
than any modern vehicle with which I am acquainted.
There were about a dozen passengers who wished to
go North, and we were told that the combined weight
of this unexpected multitude had broken down the
regular coach, and hence we were served this melan-
choly substitute. It was raining violently, and my
journal relates how we were forced to climb in over
the horses' backs, in the most irregular and awkward
fashion. For an hour we travelled in absolute dark-
ness and discomfort ; and then, the rain having
ceased, the leathern curtains were rolled up, and I
292
FIGURES OF THE PAST.
discovered my fellow-passengers. As five of these
were army officers, the conversation began upon war,
and then passed to a subject of universal interest, —
canals. The successful completion of the Erie Canal
had been the great event of the previous year, and
the possibilities of transportation which prophets
could discern seemed quite stupendous. Why would
it not be possible, by constant relays of horses, to
move passengers at the rate of eight miles an hour
over these watery highways ? And what changes
would not our children witness who might live to
see such a day ! It was hardly too much to say that
both houses of Congress might be moved at a reason-
able rate of speed with scarcely more expenditure of
horge-power than that which sufficed to draw a dozen
of us over a miry road that morning. The vanity
of human speculation is quite as striking as the pro-
verbial vanity of human wishes. A little more time
is necessary to realize it ; that is the difference. Yet
even then there were dim portents of what was to
come. A petition had already been sent to the legis-
lature of New York to incorporate a company to lay
a railroad (a horse railroad, of course) between the
Mohawk and Hudson rivers, to obviate the loss of
time in passing the canal from Schenectady to Al-
bany. Here was a practical but unregarded criticism
upon the sanguine views of these enthusiasts. Canals,
indeed !
Eight hours of fatiguing travel brought us to Balti-
more, where, by Brimmer's persuasion, I put up at
the fashionable boarding-house kept by Mrs. West.
THROUGH BALTIMORE TO BOSTON. 293
It was a fine, large mansion, evidently built for a
private residence, and was at that time occupied by
about twenty guests, whose names I see no occasion
to copy from my journal. On the morning of Sun-
day I attended the Unitarian chapel, to hear my
classmate, Charles W. Upham ; and in the afternoon
went to St. Paul's, where I heard Bishop Kemp, and
was dazzled by the crowd of beautiful and well-
dressed women. I had neglected to provide myself
with letters for Baltimore, and so proposed to con-
tinue my journey as soon as I had seen the monu-
ments for which the city is famous ; but on Sunday
afternoon, as I was gazing about the streets in a
stranger's fashion, I was suddenly accosted by Gen-
eral Stuart, whom I had met in Boston, when on a
visit to his sister, Mrs. Augustus Thorndike. He was
full of inquiries about my plans, and expressed him-
self shocked at hearing that I intended to leave the
city without seeking to make acquaintances. " But,
whatever your intentions may have been," said he,
" there is no getting away now. You have been fairly
caught by a Baltimorean. So you must surrender at
discretion and receive the hospitalities of the place.
Come with me to Mr. Oliver's at once, and then go
off if you can." And so I was taken to the noble
residence of Mr. Robert Oliver, one of the most con-
spicuous citizens of Baltimore, famous for his large
wealth, abundant charities, and profuse hospitalities.
He had been a noted Federalist, and during the try-
ing times of the embargo had sustained the party in
Maryland by his purse and influence. On leaving
294 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Mr. Oliver's, we called upon Mr. Hugh Thompson, and
finally ended the evening at Dr. Stuart's, the father
of my attentive friend; and the result of it all was
that when I returned to Mrs. West's establishment,
late in the evening, I found myself engaged for ten
days of constant festivity, comprising balls, dinners,
morning calls, a fox-hunt, a "cotton cambric," and
such other not-specified entertainments as would be
forthcoming to fill the intervals ; and any social meet-
ings more hearty, easy, friendly, and in all respects
agreeable than those which characterized the Balti-
more society of 1826 it has never been my fortune to
attend. My stay seemed like a long English Christ-
mas, — such a one, I mean, as we read of in books.
The beauty and grace of the ladies and the charming
ease of their manners were very taking to one reared
among the grave proprieties of Boston. I paid two
visits to Charles Carroll (the signer of the Declara-
tion of Independence), and dined with him and Mr.
Gallatin at Mr. Caton's, where the service, though the
most elegant I had ever seen, in no wise eclipsed the
conversation. The ladies of the family, Mrs. Caton
and Mrs. MacTavish (mother and sister, as my journal
is careful to mention, to the Marchioness of Welles-
ley), were fine-looking women and bore the impress
of refinement and high breeding. Old Mr. Carroll,
courtly in manners and bright in mind, was the life
of the party. He was then in his ninetieth year, but
carried himself as if thirty years younger than his
contemporary, John Adams. I have never seen an old
man so absolutely unconscious of his age. One reason
THROUGH BALTIMORE TO BOSTON. 295
may have been that Carroll was very spare in his
person, and had no surplus pound of mortality to
weigh down the spirit. On terminating my first call
upon this very active patriarch, he started from his
chair, ran down-stairs before me, and opened the
front door. Aghast at this unexpected proceeding,
I began to murmur my regrets and mortification
in causing him the exertion. " Exertion ! " ex-
claimed Mr. Carroll. " Why, what do you take me
for ? I have ridden sixteen miles on horseback this
morning, and am good for as much more this after-
noon, if there is any occasion for it." On leaving
the house, General Stuart told me that Mr. Carroll
made it a point of etiquette to see every guest well
over his threshold. " But you should see him when
there are ladies ! " he added. " The old gentleman
will then run into the street and throw down the
steps of the carriage, before the footman has a chance
to reach them." At Mr. Caton's dinner Carroll was
rich in anecdotes of Franklin and other great men
of the Eevolution ; but my journal, which finds room
for much of the petty gossip of the younger society
of Baltimore, gives them no record. He spoke with
great respect of my venerable friend John Adams,
giving me a Maryland view of this eminent person-
age, which was, so to speak, somewhat softer in out-
line than that obtaining in Massachusetts. In social
meetings of those days men talked much of the past,
because there was none of the varied and inexhausti-
ble present which steam and telegraph now thrust
upon their attention. Let it be mentioned that,
296 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
when I met Mr. Carroll at this dinner-table, not a
word had been heard from Europe for fifty-eight days.
If the reader considers this single fact in its full bear-
ings, he will appreciate the changes in the objects
of human thought and interest which these physical
marvels have wrought.
It is only modest to mention that the attention I
received in Baltimore was due not to my own deserv-
ings, but partly to the regard in which my father was
held by the Federalists of the city, and partly to the
wish to acknowledge the civilities which Bostonians
had shown to strangers on the occasion of the Bunker
Hill celebration of the previous summer. I had
dinner invitations from Robert Gilmore, John Hoff-
man, George Hoffman, Robert Oliver, and so many
others that, when the latter gentleman insisted on
my dining with him any day when I was not en-
gaged elsewhere, he added, pleasantly, that there was
really no hospitality in giving an invitation under
conditions which made its acceptance plainly impos-
sible. One little incident connected with these Balti-
more dinners forcibly reminded me that I was not in
the latitude of Boston. I was engaged to dine with
Mr. , one of the principal citizens, but received
a polite note from him regretting that the party must
be postponed, as his nephew had just been shot in a
duel.
Of the evening parties it will not be necessary to
copy the records in full. A brief specimen will show
their character.
" Wednesday, March 8. — Spent the evening at Mrs.
THROUGH BALTIMORE TO BOSTON. 297
Bozeley's ball, where I was greatly struck by the
beauty of the ladies. The principal belles were Miss
Clapham, Miss Gallatin, and Miss Johnson. This last
lady has one of the most striking faces I ever saw.
It is perfectly Grecian. And this, added to her fine
figure and graceful movements, presented a tout en-
semble from which I could not keep my eyes. I was
introduced to her, and found her manners as bewitch-
ing as her person. She was all life and spirit. After
finishing the first dance, I discovered a corner, where
we sat for nearly an hour, keeping up an easy, laugh-
ing sort of conversation. This would have occasioned
observation elsewhere; but here no one seemed to
notice it except the gentleman who wished to dance
with her, so I had a very comfortable time. When
we were obliged to separate, I tried to dance with
Miss Clapham, but found she was engaged. I could
only represent to her partner that I should never
have another opportunity of dancing with this lady,
whereas he would have many others ; but he was in-
exorable and refused to give her up, so I did the next
best thing in standing by her and talking to her dur-
ing all the intervals of the dance. After it was over,
I retired, well satisfied that the reputation of Balti-
more for the gayety and beauty of its ladies was fully
deserved."
There is no use in multiplying extracts like this.
It is the old, old story of maidenly fascinations upon
a young man. Let me hope that the intuitive sym-
pathy of a few youthful readers will give piquancy
to the foolish words which chronicle experiences once
298 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
so vivid. At yet another ball my journal tells how
I was introduced to Miss , " the great belle of
the city," and testifies that I found her "pretty,
agreeable, and sensible." And then there is written
some idle gossip of the young fellows of Baltimore
about this fair lady. The question with them was :
Why did not Miss marry ? She was nearly as
old as the century, and had had annual crops of eligi-
■ ble offers from her youth up. There must be some
explanation ; and then excellent and apparently con-
clusive reasons why the lady had not married and
never would marry were alleged, and these were duly
confided to the guardianship of my journal. It is
apropos to this lady that I shall be generous enough
to relate a subsequent awkwardness of my own ; for
it enforces what may be called a social moral, which
it is useful to remember. A few years after this (that
is, they seemed very few years to me), a gentleman
from Baltimore was dining at my house. During
one of the pauses of conversation, it occurred to me
to inquire after the former belle of his city, about
whom I had heard so much speculation. Expecting
an immediate acquiescence in the negative, I care-
lessly threw out the remark : " Miss , of Baltimore,
I believe, was never married." No sooner were the
words uttered than I saw that something was wrong.
My guest changed color and was silent for some mo-
ments. At length came the overwhelming reply
" Sir, I hope she was married. She is my mother."
And so the moral is, that we cannot be too cautious
in our inquiries coucerning the life, health, or circum-
THROUGH BALTIMORE TO BOSTON. 299
stances of any mortal known in other years and
bounded by another horizon.
I was introduced to Lucien Bonaparte, brother of
Napoleon, whom I first met at a superb dinner at
Mr. George Hoffman's. Christopher Hughes, our
minister to the Netherlands, was of the party, and
drew Bonaparte into general conversation, for the
benefit of the table. Morally speaking, Lucien was
one of the best of the family, and in society appeared
as a man of varied experience and accomplishment.
His title of " Prince," which sounded strangely to my
ears, was brought in by those who talked with him
quite as often as was necessary ; yet, as the man had
had the chance of being a king, and had declined
royalty for very creditable reasons, no one could
grudge him the poor papal princedom of Musignano,
which satisfied an ambition to which richer fields
were offered. Among the subjects of discussion was
the recent action of the New York Legislature in-
augurating common schools. Would this Yankee
notion spread further? It might do for New England,
where property was pretty equally divided, but would
be very unjust where this was not the case. That
the rich should be taxed to give education, without
discrimination, to the children of their poorer neigh-
bors, was decided to be simply preposterous. The
grounds upon which this appropriation of the tax-
payer's money may be justified were apparently not
perceived ; and, indeed, it was impossible that the
characteristic institution of the Puritans should at
that day be acceptable to the gentlemen of a milder
latitude.
300 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
But the time had come to leave the delightful
society of Baltimore, and I managed to make my
farewell round of visits, notwithstanding a St. Pat-
rick's ball and a real hunt (hitherto postponed by
reason of bad weather) were urged upon me as
imperative reasons for remaining. My journey to
Philadelphia was by boat, stage, and then another
boat, the latter with no accommodation for sleeping
save the tables, upon which the passengers extended
themselves. Seventeen hours of uncomfortable trav-
elling brought me to a Philadelphia boarding-house,
where I remained for a single day.
" Wednesday, March 15. — Called this morning on
Kobert Walsh, with whom I was greatly pleased.
Saw and took leave of General Cadwallader. Shortly
before twelve I went on board the steamboat ' Tren-
ton,' and had a pleasant sail to the place from which
it took its name. Then took the stage to this place
(New Brunswick), which we reached about nine.
" Thursday, March 16. — At six this morning we
started in the ' Bellona ' for New York. We passed
down the Earitan, which winds about among marshes,
greatly to the dissatisfaction of all persons who are
in a hurry ; and one of my travelling friends was in
this condition, for he was to sail in the packet ship
1 Canada ' at noon. At length we reached a point
where we could see the Narrows, and there was the
' Canada ' waiting for the steamboat from New York.
The hopes of my companion rose; but as we ap-
proached the city we saw the steamboat touch the
ship and then leave her, upon which she immediately
THROUGH BALTIMORE TO BOSTON. 301
set sail. I administered a little Epictetus, for con-
solation, and after a time he accepted his disappoint-
ment. On reaching the city I accompanied Mr.
Potter to Bunker's, whence I proceeded to my uncle's,
through a cloud of dust. This evening I have been
at a party at Maturin Livingston's, where I had the
unexpected pleasure of again meeting Miss Bullett,
of Kentucky. She told me that she was delighted
with the city, but dissatisfied with the manners of
the beaux, who are much taken up with dissipation
and self-admiration and have little time to attend to
the ladies. Had a long chat with this lady, with
Miss Morpin and other belles of the city, and after a
light supper retired."
I omit the following pages of my journal which
are devoted to a soiree at the mayor's and other con-
vivialities. I will also spare the reader my enthu-
siasm over Garcia in opera, " who cast languishing
glances at the box of Mr. Malibran, a gentleman of
fifty, to whom she is engaged." As my journey back
to Boston was enlivened by no companion as inter-
esting as Judge Story, I need only mention that " we
beguiled the heavy roads with puns and witticisms,"
and entered the three-hilled city on the evening of
the 23d of March. Life is measured by the sum of
our impressions, not by the revolutions of the earth.
During those few weeks of absence from my office I
had lived long and learned many lessons ; yet I can-
not but realize how inadequately I have been able to
share my experiences with another generation.
THE KEVEEEND CLEEGY.
nnHE narratives which I have hitherto offered the
-*- reader have been taken from or suggested by my
journals written during the decade commencing with
1820, a period so remote as to be historical to all
who are now carrying on the active work of the
world. The decades beginning with 1830 and 1840
are richer in incident, as I came into more intimate
contact with distinguished contemporaries and took a
humble part in forwarding that great revolution which
followed the introduction of locomotion by steam.
But the diaries which chronicle these things have
not the savor of relating to an extinct condition of
society, which is characteristic of those from which
extracts have hitherto been taken ; and before leaving
the decade following 1820, I have been urged, by the
friend by whom my journals have been read, to give
some illustrations of the social life in Boston which
they present.
The progress in scientific discovery and mechanical
invention, which has distinguished the last half-cen-
tury beyond any other since the world began, has
swept us past many comfortable traditions which con-
trolled our society when I first knew it. In the third
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 303
decade of the century Boston was a synonym for
certain individuals and families, who ruled it with
undisputed sway and, according to the standards then
recognized, governed it pretty well. On the topmost
round of the social ladder stood the clergy; for al-
though the lines of theological separation among
themselves were deeply cut, the void between them
and the laity was even more impassable. Dr. Chan-
ning, the pastor of my father's family, upon hearing
that I had joined a militia company, spoke to my
mother on the subject, and alluded to a personal griev-
ance with a bitterness of tone which caused his words
to be long remembered. " Your son, madam," he said,
" is to be greatly congratulated, for he will now have
the satisfaction of seeing men as they really are ; and
this is an inestimable privilege which has always been
denied to me. The moment I enter any society,
every one remembers that I am a clergyman, puts off
his natural self, and begins to act a part. My profes-
sion requires me to deal with such men as actually
exist, yet I can never see them except in disguise.
I am shut out from knowledge which is essential to
my work." And so strongly did this eminent man
feel the disadvantage under which he labored that he
made it the subject of an address from the pulpit. I
find, in my journal for January 8, 1826, an abstract
of a sermon preached that day upon " Sanctity of
Persons," wherein Dr. Channiug thought it necessary
to maintain the thesis that ministers, merely in virtue
of their office, were no holier than the rest of man-
kind, and that the reverence accorded them should
304 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
not differ from that due to Christian laymen whose
influence tended to the elevation of our characters.
The absence of the able religious press which
at present exists gave great weight to the utter-
ances of the pulpit, and my journals contain al-
ways a notice and often a pretty full report of the
Sunday discourses. A brief mention of some of these
old sermons may be found interesting. On Sunday,
June 17, 1821, 1 find that the venerable Mr. Norton, of
Weymouth, preached at the First Church in Quincy,
and that he saw fit to address his remarks, not to
potential presidents of the United States, as it would
have been polite in him to do, but to servants. The
domestics of the family in those days often worshipped
with their employers, and the good old minister saw
no reason why a fact of social existence recognized
everywhere else should be ignored by the pulpit. " I
am Abraham's servant," was announced as the text,
and surely, thought the preacher, there was nothing
unbecoming an honorable and self-respecting man in
this statement; for the Scriptures are at pains to in-
form us how good a servant was he who thus bluntly
declared his office. " Mark, in the first place," quoth
Mr. Norton, " the dignified mission with which he was
intrusted. It was to choose a wife for Isaac. Ob-
serve, in the second place, his self-denial in refusing
to eat until he had told his errand, though he must
have been very hungry after his long journey. In
the third place, note that we hear nothing of his
visiting any of the sights of Nahor, though to a
stranger they must have been attractive, and doubt-
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 305
less the friends of Kebekah would have feasted him
had he chosen to tarry for this purpose." Those ac-
quainted with the sermons of the time can imagine
the picturesque treatment that naturally belongs to
these different heads. The resulting moral was shot
point-blank at such servants and apprentices as were
present to receive it. While Mr. Norton thought
it improbable that they would be employed in deli-
cate matrimonial negotiations, like the servant of the
text, he was quite confident that there would never
be lacking opportunities of showing fidelity in the
condition of life to which their Maker had called
them. Perhaps I should apologize for bringing this
rusty old homily from its sixty years of silence. It
is little adapted to that fair world of railroad presi-
dents, popular politicians, and successful speculators
which all young Americans are now on their way to
adorn.
My journal for Sunday, November 11, 1821, is
devoted to an account of services held by John New-
land Mamt, a Methodist preacher, who attracted great
attention and was claimed by his admirers to be the
successor of Whitefield. On the morning of the day
I attended a baptism by immersion of some fifty
adults, most of them young women, who had been
converted by his appeals. The ceremony took place
in Charles Eiver, near the site of the Massachusetts
General Hospital. For some reason or other, Mr.
Maffit could not administer the rite. Witli an ear-
nest half- whisper, that was very impressive, he pro-
nounced a benediction over each of his converts, as
20
306 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
he handed them to an older minister, who led them
into the water. Those who were baptized seemed
under great excitement, and took their chilly Novem-
ber plunge without shrinking. They all sang with
fervor as they waded back to the beach. It was no
easy matter to hear Mr. Maffit preach, for the crowds
which thronged to the Bromfield Street Meeting-house
packed the aisles of that building so closely that the
minister had been forced to enter by a ladder placed
at a back window. I was so much struck by the ser-
vices of the morning that I determined to hear this
famous preacher, and by dint of great perseverance
succeeded in doing so. My journal thus describes
him : " Mr. Maffit is a little black-haired man, with
the scar of a harelip, which has been sewed up. His
wonderful power lies in his fluency and his imagina-
tion. In the afternoon his text was from Acts vii.
22 : ' And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of
the Egyptians.' In the evening he preached upon
Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He is very rapid' in his
enunciation, never hesitating for a word or pausing
for an instant. He has a fine voice, and it is pleasant
to hear him." I then speak of his utter want of
method, and the adroit way in which he disguised it
by a rapid rush of utterance in the places where a
want of proper sequence would otherwise have been
marked. " His self-possession is amazing, and when
he made some ridiculous mistake he hurried on and
took no notice of it, and so nobody else did."
It is not unlikely that the abundant incense offered
at the shrine of Mr. Maffit drew from Dr. Channing
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 307
an excellent sermon from 2 Corinthians xiii. 9, of
which my journal for the following Sunday contains
a report. It was a rigid examination of the duties
of ministers, showing the temptation which assailed
those possessing certain gifts of voice and manner to
substitute the startling effects which produce imme-
diate applause for more effective methods of dealing
with sin. The warning, if it was intended for one,
was timely ; for the much-flattered Mr. Maffit got
into trouble the very next year, and appeared in
court, prosecuting Joseph T. Buckingham, editor of
the " Galaxy," for a libel. My father, who was judge,
ruled that the defendant might be allowed to prove
that his allegations were true and that they were
published for justifiable ends, since the specific reser-
vation of the liberty of the press under the Massa-
chusetts Constitution annulled the doctrine of the
common law, that the truth could not be put in as
evidence under a libel. Owing to this ruling, Mr.
Maffit lost his case before the civil court ; but it is
due to him to say that the ecclesiastical court, which
subsequently considered bis alleged offences against
decorum, found that wTiile he " had exhibited mourn-
ful evidence of want of judgment and prudence," no
more serious charge could be sustained against him.
This was doubtless a correct view of the case, and
furnishes one warning more of the jealous scrutiny
to which the ways of a popular preacher are sub-
jected. The Christian usefulness of this impulsive
and eloquent Irishman was forever marred by his
imprudence.
308 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
I was on intimate terms with Dr. Channing and
often visited him. I recall a conversation I had with
him about this time in relation to Maffit or some
other modern Whitefield. "To compare any man
that this generation has heard to Whitefield is on its
face absurd," said Dr. Channing. "Could any of them
move such cold and competent critics as Garrick and
Gibbon ? Now to Whitefield's eloquence we have
expert testimony, which places him far above all un-
inspired preachers. Would the most consummate
actor of his day and the philosophical scoffer at the
religion Whitefield preached have been touched by
anything short of the light and sincerity of genius ? "
I then repeated to Dr. Channing a remark made in
my presence by my great-aunt Storer, at which he
seemed much struck, saying that it was in perfect
accordance with the traditions of Whitefield which
had come to his knowledge. Mrs. Storer, who had
heard this great preacher upon Boston Common, was
asked to give the company some idea of the effect he
produced upon her. Her reply was substantially
this : " I remember that in the course of one of his
sermons (it was preached just after sunrise) he quoted
the words, ' If I take the wings of the morning and
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea.' Well, his
voice was like that of an angel when he uttered them,
while his arms rose slowly from his sides with an in-
describable grace. I should have felt no surprise to
see him ascend into the air. That would have been
no miracle. The miracle was rather that he remained
on earth."
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 309
My journals abound in abstracts of Dr. Channing's
sermons, which, although far too lengthy for quota-
tion in these papers, have at least the interest of
showing how much matter the average hearer could
bring home from those wonderful services. Testi-
mony of mine to the thrilling impressiveness of his
voice would be utterly superfluous. " I could form
no idea of eternity," said a lady to me, " until I heard
Channing say the words ' from everlasting to ever-
lasting,' and then it overwhelmed me. They were as
full of spiritual discernment as the simple exclama-
tion of Whitefield, which Garrick said he would give
a hundred guineas to imitate." I may give some
notion of the sustained elevation of Channing's pul-
pit utterances by mentioning that when he had occa-
sion to make some ordinary request from the sacred
desk, the descent of his manner excited a sense of the
ridiculous. " I should like to have those in the back
pews come forward and occupy the pews near the
pulpit." What is there in this simple and proper
request to raise a smile ? And yet, when Channing
made it, after one of his impassioned discourses, the
effect was somehow as comically incongruous as if
Prospero should follow his grand speech about the
dissolution of the great globe itself by asking Ariel
to serve him with chops and tomato sauce. The
fact is, that the man who loomed to such gigantic
spiritual stature in the pulpit was not a great pastor.
With all his interest in education, he did not person-
ally come near the average youth of his congregation.
We revered him and were very proud of him, but the
310 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
distance between us was impassable. I am speaking
of him, of course, as he appeared to the very young.
A timid young girl, who went on a fishing excursion
with her pastor in 1815, gave me this specimen of
the way in which the good man sought to enter into
conversational relations with her. The party had
been out for some hours, and at length the shy Mr.
Channing seemed to feel that it was his duty to say
something to the daughter of one of the principal
supporters of his church. He accordingly sidled up
to her, and thus began : " Do these waves look to you
as if they were moved by the wind, or as if each
wave was propelled by the impulse it receives from
the one following it ? " An admirable question this.
Indeed, it will look so well in print that the point
of the story may be missed. Nothing could be better
to introduce that body of useful information which
oppresses the fathers of the Franks and the Eollos,
and of which they are bound to relieve themselves
at any sacrifice ; but, excellent as the inquiry was, it
shut up the young girl most effectually, for it testi-
fied to the awful distance which separated her simple
thoughts from those of her pastor. To ask whether
his young friend were not hungry and did not hope
there would be chowder for luncheon, would not have
been a dignified opening ; yet easy relations, valuable
to one of the parties at least, might thus have been
established. There is no harm in admitting (nay, it
is often encouraging to remember) that men full of
genius and goodness have had their human limita-
tions, like the rest of us. Channing's gift was that
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 311
of a preacher. His sermons, while coherent and com-
plete as compositions, were given with a warmth and
intensity of expression with which scholarship and
delicacy of thought are seldom united.
Mrs. Gore, of Boston, afterward known as Mrs.
Joseph Kussell, ornamented her parlors in Park
Street with two fine Stuarts, painted by her order
One of these portraits represented Cardinal Cheverus
(or, as we Bostonians had rather call him, Bishop
Cheverus), and the other Dr. John Sylvester John
Gardiner, the rector of Trinity. Both these divines
impressed themselves deeply upon the society of
Boston, and many are the anecdotes that were once in
circulation concerning them. Cheverus was greatly
esteemed by my father, who was fond of relating the
manner in which their acquaintance commenced.
One day, near the beginning of the century, he was
driving from Quincy to Boston in a pelting storm.
When about five miles from his destination, he over-
took a forlorn foot-passenger, who, drenched and
draggled, was plodding along the miry road. My
father drew up his horse, and called to the stranger
to get in and ride with him. " That would be
scarcely fair," was the man's reply. "My clothes
are soaked with water and would spoil the cushions
of your chaise, to say nothing of the wetting I could
not avoid giving you." These objections were made
light of, and with some difficulty the wayfarer was
persuaded to take the offered seat. During the ride
my father learned that his companion was a priest,
named Cheverus, who was walking from Hingham,
312 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
whither he had been to perform some offices con-
nected with his profession ; and thus commenced the
acquaintance, which afterward ripened into friendship,
between men whose beliefs and ways of life were out-
wardly so different. No person could have been bet-
ter adapted to establish the Church of Home in the
city of the Puritans than the first bishop of Boston.
The elevation of his character commanded the respect
of the Protestant leaders of the place, and Channing
confessed that no minister in the town would care to
challenge a comparison between himself and this de-
voted priest. I have a distinct recollection of hearing
Cheverus preach in the Franklin Street Cathedral.
His style was very direct, and I remember how start-
ling to my ears was the sentence with which he
opened his discourse : " I am now addressing a con-
gregation which has more thieves in it than any other
assembled in this town." Owing to the social posi-
tion and peculiar temptations of his people, the fact
may have been as the Bishop stated it ; but only a
strong man would have ventured upon an opening so
little conciliatory to his audience. But besides the
great Christian virtues, Cheverus had those gifts of
tact and humor which are not without value to an
ecclesiastic. He had a sly way of reminding his
Protestant friends that their forefathers had fled to
this country, not to escape the persecution of Popery,
but that of a Protestant Prelacy ; and when theologi-
cal topics were broached, he would treat our " invin-
cible ignorance " with a kindly forbearance that was
very winning. There was a story that he once en-
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 313
tered into an argument with a Methodist minister,
who, with more zeal than wisdom, sought to crush the
Bishop with texts selected at random from all parts
of the Bible and then dovetailed together to support
his conclusions. Cheverus stood this sort of attack
until the argumentum ad absurdum, or, rather, ad
hominem, seemed to be a legitimate retaliation ; and
so, turning over the Bible, he said he would call his
antagonist's attention to two texts which, when prop-
erly clinched together, would end all controversy be-
tween them. The first was to be found in the twenty-
seventh chapter of Matthew, " And Judas went and
hanged himself ; " the second was from Luke x., " Go
and do thou likewise!' I do not vouch for the truth
of this anecdote, but only for its currency.
There is room for all temperaments among the
clergy. The Church of Him who came eating and
drinking, and whose chief apostle was willing to make
himself all things to all men, touches this world as
well as the heavens. It has uses not only for the
meditative ascetic, but for the well-equipped scholar
of genial presence and warm social tastes. Such
a man was Dr. Gardiner, the rector of Trinity, a
representative English Churchman ; one who thought
it no sin to enjoy a game of cards and a game supper
afterward. At the time to which I refer I think he
was the only Boston clergyman who was willing to
be seen playing whist ; and as for suppers, he pos-
sessed the noble British digestion which regards with
scorn the weaker gastric fluids characteristic of West-
ern civilization. " What is all this talk about stom-
314 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
achs ? " I have heard him exclaim. " You don't give
them work enough. That 's what the matter is. Eat
a hearty supper, as I do, keep a good conscience, and
don't think about them, and I '11 be bound they '11 give
you no trouble." And the good Doctor took his own
prescription with great success ; and, with some modi-
fications, it is not a bad one. In the pulpit Dr. Gar-
diner was interesting and gratified a refined taste ; yet
he well knew the advantage of occasionally leaving
the graceful periods, of which he was master, to pass
to the direct language of every-day life. After mak-
ing an urgent appeal in behalf of some charity, I once
heard him say, " Come now, you rich men, give liber-
ally ; and I '11 answer for it that you shall have money
enough left to ruin all your children." Dr. Gardiner
was the best reader in the town, and it was rumored
that when among confidential friends he had been
known to interpret Shakespeare with great power. Of
this, however,jI had no opportunity to judge, as public
sentiment would scarcely have permitted a minister
to entertain any general circle of hearers by render-
ing stage plays ; but his reading of the liturgy, and
especially of the burial service, is never to be for-
gotten. In the latter office he introduced an effect
so dramatic and startling that it could only have
been inoffensive in the most judicious hands; but, as
Dr. Gardiner used it, it added to the solemnity of that
wonderful fifteenth chapter of Corinthians, which
has so often strengthened the afflicted children of
men. The apostle, after testifying how the faith of
the resurrection had sustained him in his trials, gives
THE REVEREND CLERGY. 315
in one terse sentence a philosophy of life which
might seem plausible to those who rejected the gos-
pel he taught : " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow
we die." Dr. Gardiner's whole manner changed when
he reached this passage, and he gave the words with
the full force of dramatic personation. I have heard
them ring through the church almost as Falstaff
might have uttered them in the tavern at East-
cheap. It was as if the Doctor determined that
Satan should not complain that his sentiments had
been marred in the delivery. And then this bold
treatment gave the reader the right to assume also
the personality of the inspired teacher in the solemn
sentences which followed : " Awake to righteousness
and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of
God. I speak this to your shame." I would that I
could clothe these words with the sublimity with
which the voice of the rector of Trinity still invests
them to my ears. Singularly enough, Dr. Gardiner is
remembered for one of the least of his many contri-
butions to our literature. This was an adaptation of
Milton's "Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity "
to the exigencies of public worship. The necessary
alterations are made with good judgment, and I do
not see why it should not always remain, what it is
to-day, a beautiful and an appropriate opening for a
Christmas service. I have heard people quote the
added lines, and innocently attribute them to the
Puritan poet, instead of to the amending Church-
man. It is something to have mingled one's words
with those of John Milton for the use of English-
speaking Christians.
SOME PILLAES OF THE STATE.
TVTOT many years ago I was standing in the vesti-
**^ bule of the Mechanics' Charitable Society of
Boston, gazing upon a full-length portrait which was
there displayed. An intelligent citizen, near middle
life, stopped beside me and asked if I could tell him
the name of the subject of the picture. I started at
the inquiry, but, supposing that the eyesight of the
visitor might be defective, replied, "Why, Harrison
Gray Otis, of course." "Ah! and who is Harrison
Gray Otis ? " was the rejoinder. Well, I really felt
as strangely as if asked a similar question about
George Washington or John Adams ; for in the good
old town of Boston, where I had grown up, inqui-
ries concerning these latter personalities would have
seemed no whit less preposterous. Mr. Otis was once
the figure-head of our community. Graceful, hand-
some, eloquent, wearing worthily the mantle of his
uncle, James Otis, the great orator of the Eevolution,
he easily took the first place in Boston, when there
was a decidedly first place to take. Mr. Otis had
represented Massachusetts in the United States Sen-
ate, and ardently desired to be governor of his State ;
but, with all his appreciation of the felicities of office,
SOME PILLARS OF THE STATE. 317
there was one thing he loved still better, and that
was the Federal Party. It was well understood that
Otis could have had political promotion by joining
the Democrats, as John Quincy Adams and others
had done ; but he had been a delegate to the Hart-
ford Convention and stood stanchly by the conquered
cause. The notice in my journal which especially
recalls Mr. Otis is found in an account of a great
cattle-show at Worcester, held on the 6th of October,
1829. "I wish it were in my power," so I then
wrote, " to preserve for posterity some traces of the
wit, brilliancy, eloquence, and urbanity of Harrison
Gray Otis ; for when he is gone there is no man who
can make good his place in society." A festival of
rare enjoyment we had. The show and the dinner
were of the best. A bovine procession (I think there
were some hundred and fifty yoke of noble oxen)
passed along the streets ; the speeches by Otis and
Everett were in the happiest vein ; and a grand ball
concluded the day. No, it did not conclude it, after
all ; for near midnight some gentlemen from Provi-
dence, who had arrived by the newly opened Black-
stone Canal, invited a few of us to adjourn to a room
they had engaged and taste some of " Eoger Williams
Spring," which they had brought all the way from
the settlement he founded. Now this same spring,
as it turned out, ran some remarkably choice Madeira,
and this beverage, served with an excellent supper,
furnished the material basis for brilliant displays of
wit, flashing out upon the background of hearty and
genial humor. Mr. Otis fairly surpassed himself.
318 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
He was simply wonderful in repartee, and his old-
fashioned stories were full of rollicking fun. I well
remember the account he gave of the first appearance
of champagne in Boston. It was produced at a party
given by the French consul, and was mistaken by his
guests for some especially mild cider of foreign growth.
The scene was beneath the dignity of history, to be
sure ; but, taken as a sort of side-show, it was very
enjoyable. Deacons, as well as civil functionaries, fig-
ured among the actors ; but I decline to tax my mem-
ory further. If it is not necessary to refrain when
Heaven sends a cheerful hour, as John Milton's
sonnet teaches us, it is surely well to refrain from
reporting it. Mere words without the manner and
the charm of the speaker are like the libretto of an
opera without the music. Take this for a specimen.
I remember saying to Mr. Otis, apropos to something
which I forget, " I think, sir, your wish must have
been father to the thought." He turned suddenly
upon me, and exclaimed, " Why don't you give the
full quotation, —
1 Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.' "
" Well, sir," I said, " I did not think it would be
polite to address you as Harry."
" Pooh ! pooh ! Never, while you live, mutilate a
good quotation upon such a punctilio as that."
The fun is faint enough as here written; but as
" Harry Otis " — for so his contemporaries called him
— flashed it in the face of a young fellow brought up
to regard him as one of the pillars of the State, it
glowed with the perfection of social humor.
SOME PILLARS OF THE STATE. 319
I may illustrate the intensity of Mr. Otis's Federal-
ism by mentioning that he could never forgive Judge
Story for his early attachment to the Democratic
party. On the death of Chief Justice Marshall, the
lawyers celebrated his services by a eulogy, which
was succeeded by a bar dinner at East Boston. The
friends of Joseph Story were very anxious that he
should be appointed to the vacant place, and one of
them, being called upon for a toast, recited the pas-
sage where Pharaoh says to Joseph : " There is none
so discreet and wise as thou art. Thou shalt be ruler
over my house, and according unto thy word shall
my people be ruled." The hope was then expressed
that the American executive might find occasion to
use similar language. The toast-giver (and he who
now tells the story was the guilty person) felt satis-
fied with the aptness of his quotation and the com-
pliment it implied. " Joseph, indeed ! " muttered
Mr. Otis, when the sentiment was repeated to him.
" Why, yes, an excellent comparison. Pray, was any-
thing said about his coat of many colors ? "
Turning backward the leaves of my journal, I come,
in 1827, upon entries made the 22d of November and
the day following. Mr. Otis was arguing in the Su-
preme Court, and I have noted my admiration of the
graceful finesse with which he held our attention to
a case of the very dryest description. The matter
related to the ownership of certain lands adjoining
the Mill Pond, which then occupied a large cove on
the northern side of the peninsula. The property
had formerly been owned by a Mr. Gee, a ship-
320 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
builder, who held large estates at the North End.
I remember a joke introducing the words ire pi ttjv
yijv which Mr. Otis made upon the name of this
land-loving citizen ; but the pronunciation of Greek
at present in vogue at Harvard College has destroyed
the pun. Some question arising as to the ownership
of the sluiceway which emptied the pond, Mr. Otis
took occasion to introduce an account of the feats of
swimming he had performed there when a boy, and
then, in the most humorous manner, asserted his own
title to the property on the ground of occupancy.
" At least," he added, " I think the Court will ac-
knowledge that my owm title to this watercourse is
quite as valid as that which I am here to contest."
Mr. Otis lived for many years after his active life
closed. He moved with difficulty, being sorely afflicted
with the gout and other infirmities. The leader of his
time was no longer recognized, but the courtly and
genial gentleman survived to the end. I remember
that he owned the first low-hung carriage which was
seen in Boston, the old aristocratic coaches having
formidable flights of steps, which must be let down
before the passenger could climb up into them. One
day the old gentleman appeared upon 'Change driven
in his new vehicle. " What will you take for your
carriage, Mr. Otis ? " asked a friend, by way of ex-
pressing his admiration for this unusual turnout.
" The worst pair of legs in State Street ! " was the
characteristic reply.
The last time I dined with Mr. Otis I sat with him
for some time at his window, which looked upon the
SOME PILLARS OF THE STATE. 321
Common. The trees had just put on their perfect
foliage, and I remarked upon the beauty of an elm
before the house. " When I came to this place," said
the old gentleman, " that fine tree was a sapling. I
have seen it grow, and it has seen me decline. It
will be beautiful and stretch its branches over thou-
sands long after I am forgotten." At the table that
day his mind seemed to be running upon the past.
He gave sketches of men once of note and conse-
quence, whose names even had scarcely reached his
younger guests. Those names were empty shells to
us, — as empty of any rich and vigorous personality
as will be the name of Harrison Gray Otis to the
mass of readers who find it upon this page.
It is a great pity that the pew of the royal gov-
ernors in the King's Chapel was removed, in order
that two plebeian pews might be constructed upon
its ample site. I used greatly to value this interest-
ing relic, which was just opposite the pew that I
occupied. It stood handsomely out, with ornamented
pillars at the corners, and lifted its occupants two
feet above that herd of miscellaneous sinners who
confessed their miserable estate upon the level of
undiscriminating democracy. I came too late into
the world to see a royal governor enter this august
pew, though the ghosts of some of them would occa-
sionally seem to steal up the aisle and creep into it
during the drowsier passages of the afternoon sermon \
but the flesh -and-blood personage who occupied the
pew in my day was, so to speak, as good a governor
as the best of them. He was the son of a Massachu-
21
322 FIGUKES OF THE PAST.
setts governor, too; and surely there could be no
better ideal of those royal qualities which should
characterize the ruler of a state than was presented
in the Federal leader, William Sullivan. How that
pew of royal dignity used fairly to blossom with the
large and lovely family of which he was the head !
There was a noble poise about them all ; and then
they were so handsome that it seemed quite proper
that they should sit a foot or two nearer heaven than
the rest of us. Governor Sullivan left four sons, who
were active and leading men during my early man-
hood. Several of them had large families, and there
was every prospect that the name would long be per-
petuated in Boston; but this once powerful family
has passed away, and I think there is no Sullivan of
their blood remaining upon the spot where they were
so conspicuous.
I happened to know William Sullivan much more
intimately than young men commonly know their
elders. For three years I studied law in his office,
and of course came into daily contact with him.
The good lawyer, he used to tell us, should be a
complete and well-rounded man, since he is called
to the most varied exercise of intellectual power.
Sullivan's influence on the bar was elevating, and in
its social relations (then far more important than
now) he was its acknowledged leader. But his real
love was for literature, and he used to regret that
there is so little means of discerning in early life
the department of labor for which each one is best
adapted. Mr. Sullivan finally withdrew from the
SOME PILLARS OF THE STATE. 323
practice of the law, and wrote some excellent books
upon ethical and historical subjects. His letters
upon the public men of the Kevolution are full of
intelligence, and will always be valued as among the
best sources of the history of that time. He wrote
two treatises for the use of schools, — one upon the
political, the other upon the moral duties of the
American citizen. The latter was an admirable text-
book for the young ; but as it appealed to the truths
of revealed religion to confirm the law of morals
derived from the created universe, it has been long
banished from our public schools. But men of the
stamp of Sullivan and his friend Otis were more
conspicuous for what they were than for what they
did. They were predominant men, and gave the com-
munity its quality, shaping, as if by divine right, its
social and political issues. Who exercises a similar
function to-day ? We find a medley of railroad kings
and learned specialists, who are not without their in-
fluence in a fragmentary way ; but we have lost that
lay priesthood who were once the accepted models
of high living, and whose qualifications to direct the
State were eminent and undisputed.
In no respect have we so disadvantageously left
behind us the Boston of the earlier part of the cen-
tury as in the ceremonies of dining. The dining-room
was the temple in which the social priesthood to
which I have referred were accustomed to deliver
their oracles. My journals continually bear witness
to the interest of these dinners, which went forward
in the cheerful sunlight, and where the intellectual
324 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
entertainment was far more prominent than the de-
vices of the cook. There were no flowers and but
small variety in meats and wines ; but the conver-
sation was always general and generally of the best.
A tacit understanding assigned the prominent parts
to those able to discharge them. My notes preserve
some of the talk of these old Boston dinners ; but I
hesitate to quote them, because they are too meagre
and scattered to do any justice to the subject. Both
Sullivan and Otis were largely given to this pleasant
form of hospitality, the former occasionally adding
his gifts as a singer to his many graces as a host. I
can hear even now the fine English songs he used to
give us ; but something better than these was the
exquisitely courteous manner in which he would ask
his wife's permission to exercise this talent. " Sally,
may I sing ? " was the simple formula, but the words
seemed to carry all the tender chivalry of a natural
gentleman.
I will conclude this paper with recollections of a
statesman who vigorously impressed himself upon
his contemporaries. This was Timothy Pickering,
or Colonel Pickering, as he was always called, though
I think he had held a higher military rank in the
army. He had been Secretary of War and Secretary
of State under Washington, and looked " a soldier fit
to stand by Csesar and give direction." Indeed, the
title " Old Roman," which has been absurdly applied
to General Jackson and divers later personages, fitted
Pickering like a glove. More than six feet high, with
a frame nobly set and a nose with the true Julian
SOME PILLARS OF THE STATE. 325
hook in it, he seemed to personify the martial spirit
of the Revolution. He was worthy to have supported
Washington at the battle of Brandywine. Colonel
Pickering frequently visited my father, both in Bos-
ton and Quincy, and my journal gives an account of
his dining with us in the latter place on the 13th of
August, 1821. As a preliminary ceremony to the
dinner, my father, who was an enthusiast in agri-
culture, insisted upon taking his guest to view his
crops and barnyard. " So you 've been over the farm,
Colonel Pickering," said my mother, upon his return
to the house. "Why, yes, madame," was the reply.
u I have been all over the farm, and a vjeary tramp
I've had of it." Pickering was himself an agricul-
turalist of no small repute; but he found his own
crops more interesting than those of other people,
and was honest enough or blunt enough not to dis-
guise his feelings with conventional civilities. I
have sometimes thought that this speech explains
all that needs explaining of his difficulties with John
Adams. Both were plain-spoken men, and probably
exposed their minds when a diplomatic reserve would
have been politic, if not praiseworthy.
The Colonel was a masterly talker, and entertained
us at dinner that day with an account of his best-
beloved friend, Judge Peters, of Pennsylvania. To
his substantial qualities he declared that Peters added
a wealth of the lighter social graces that was unsur-
passable. Jefferson had asserted that if all the good
things Peters had said could be collected, they would
make a mass of wit greater than had come from any
326 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
other human being ; and this his friend thought was
no more than the truth. My journal preserves sev-
eral specimens of the jests of this magistrate; but
they lie flat beneath the pressure of threescore years,
and lack the vivid acting and gestures of Colonel
Pickering to re-excite the " peals of laughter " with
which I mention that they were received. One will
do for a specimen. Peters was known to be troubled
with a vertigo, which seized him at unexpected mo-
ments and caused most unpleasant dizziness. At a
certain dinner, where his voice rose clearly above the
clash of crockery and buzz of conversation, a gentle-
man called out, " Well, Judge, I see you manage to
keep your head above water ! " Back flashed the
reply, " Yes, sir ; it has always been famous for
swimming." But it is not in the power of ink and
paper to preserve the flavor of old jokes. They should
be allowed to die, and be newly created whenever
posterity may require them. Of all the lost books
of the ancient world that " Liber Jocularis " which
recorded the puns of Cicero is least to be lamented.
Colonel Pickering's way of using " plain words
stript of their shirts " gave his narrations a sharp
impression of reality. The story of his abduction
from Wyoming and of his sufferings in chains and
captivity must be found somewhere in those four
bulky volumes of his biography; but to hear him
tell it was like sharing the experience in his com-
pany. Life has become too crowded to admit those
exciting postprandial histories with which the sur-
vivors of the Kevolution were wont to favor the
SOME PILLARS OF THE STATE. 327
younger generations. They abounded in illustrations
and perhaps in snap judgments ; but they furnished
aliment for thought not to be got out of books. No
rust of old age had touched Colonel Pickering. He
was vigorous to the last, as his stormy controversy
with President Adams remains to testily. " Exeunt
righting" is a common direction in Shakespeare's
plays, and indeed, if the adversary be well chosen,
there are many worse ways in which brave men
might leave the stage of life. But it is pleasant to
mention that these venerable heroes, to whom our
country is so much indebted, put aside their differ-
ences when they met, unexpectedly, beneath my
father's roof. " I hope to meet Colonel Pickering
in heaven," said John Adams ; " and the next best
place to meet him is in this house." The scene
has been so well described by my brother, Edmund
Quincy, in his biography of my father, that I do not
enlarge upon it here.
TWO NOTABLE WOMEK
A T some hours of the day the visitor who enters
-^** the Boston Athenaeum will find more women
than men who are availing themselves of its privileges.
Most of them, I suppose, would stare were they told
that within the memory of a living person it re-
quired a certain sort of heroism for one of their
sex to appear in the library. When the Athenaeum
was in Tremont Street, occupying the stuccoed build-
ing of two stories which stood on part of the land
now occupied by the Probate Office, one solitary
female ventured to claim the freedom of its alcoves
and to endure the raising of the masculine eyebrows,
provoked by the unaccustomed sight. And this
" woman who dared" was the famous American au-
thoress, Miss Hannah Adams. It was years before
any sister authoress came to follow her example ;
but, nothing daunted, the little lady browsed among
the books, content to look as singular and as much
out of place as a woman of to-day would look who
frequented a fashionable club designed for the ex-
clusive accommodation of males. "My first idea of
heaven," said Miss Adams, " was that of a place
where my thirst for knowledge should be gratified."
TWO NOTABLE WOMEN. 329
And when, upon her arrival in Boston, William Smith
Shaw introduced the lady to the library he had
founded, it seemed as if the celestial gates could
scarcely open upon greater privileges.
I was well acquainted with Miss Hannah Adams,
who was as intimate in my father's family as a person
so modest and retiring could be anywhere. She often
stayed with us at Quincy, where she was held in awe
by the servants, from her habit of talking to herself.
This seemed to them a very weird and uncanny pro-
ceeding ; but our guest had penetrated a world where
they could not follow her, and her lips unconsciously
uttered the thoughts that it suggested. There was a
story illustrative of this habit of hers when confined
to a sphere of wholly mundane considerations. A
divinity student, who was going from Andover to
Boston, thought himself in great luck in securing a
seat in the stage next that to be occupied by Miss
Adams. A tete-d-tete journey with the great author-
ess was a delightful prospect ; and the young gentle-
man was determined to turn his opportunity to the
best advantage and to get fresh instalments of the
wisdom which had instructed him in her books.
Alas! the fates were against him. It chanced that
the lady was travelling with an unwonted amount of
baggage, and the fear of forgetting any of its compo-
nent parts continually haunted her mind. In vain
the divinity student tempted conversation with well-
framed questions. The answers were short and me-
chanical ; but as soon as they were given were heard
the words, " Great box, little box, bandbox ! " This
330 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
refrain was uttered in a tone of the deepest interest,
and was repeated at short intervals throughout the
journey; and this was really all that this young in-
quirer after knowledge could get from his ride with
the famous Miss Adams. " Great box, little box,
bandbox ! " Could it be that the rich and varied
contents of the lady's mind were of less interest to
her than the contents of those mysterious parcels
she had in charge ? Whether the embryo minister
extracted any moral from his experience the story
does not mention; but it is not impossible that in
some future sermon he said that, if we all had Miss
Adams's habit of speaking out our thoughts, too many
of them would be found fixed upon the mere boxes
and bundles we carry along the journey of life, only
to drop at the end of it. Those noble powers of
mind which should be used for the benefit of others
are crushed and paralyzed by the pressure of these
miserable packages.
The younger members of my father's family had an
awful interest in Miss Adams, as being one of those
privileged persons who had stood face to face with the
supernatural. It was known that the great authoress
had seen a ghost, and this at a time when it was some
distinction to have done so. Evolution may possibly
be doing something for the improvement of men and
women, but its failure in the matter of ghosts is most
lamentable. The vulgar necromancy which now offers
its wares in every street has destroyed that sense of
the ideal which the old-fashioned apparition did so
much to cultivate. I shall not tell the story of the
TWO NOTABLE WOMEN. 331
ghost who used to haunt the old Apthorp house, in
the town of Quincy, to a generation unworthy to hear
it. It would be catalogued among the herd of modern
hysterical wonders, whose tendency is to degrade the
mind ; and this would be to wrong its solemn signifi-
cance. Miss Adams, on rare occasions and among
her intimate friends, would tell of her visitation from
the other world with a confidence in its authenticity
that was very impressive. The scene was in a farm-
house, in some country town where she was teaching
school, it being then the custom for the schoolmis-
tress to board for periods of a week or two with the
parents of her different pupils. Not to attempt par-
ticulars, which are imperfectly remembered and of
which I made no record, it may be said that the form
of a beloved sister appeared (or seemed to appear) to
Miss Adams in the dead watches of the night, and
that the living lady was so frightened that she called
lustily for help and brought the family to her cham-
ber. As we listened to the story, we could not but
share the narrator's confidence in the objective char-
acter of the vision, and the conclusion of the tale (in
the minds of the younger auditors, at least) testified
to the wonderful pluck of the authoress. " I did very
wrong to allow my fears to get the better of me," she
used to say. " Was it not my dear sister, who was
devoted to me in this world and who would not be
less loving in the next ? And what do you think I
did ? I dismissed the family who had come to me,
blew out the light they brought me, and passed the
rest of the night in perfect tranquillity." This is
332 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
certainly not a sensational ending to a ghost story ;
but it is a conclusion so sensible that it deserves
preservation.
When I call Miss Adams a famous authoress, I
speak in the language of a time when she had abso-
lutely no competitors. Her " Dictionary of Eeligions "
went through four editions in this country, and was
republished in England, — a high honor in the days
when British scorn was poured on all American books.
Upon her " History of New England " she lost money,
and, what was still worse, the use of her eyes for a
period of two years. Hoping to mend her fortunes
from an abridgment of this latter book, she was
greatly injured by the action of a person of some
literary ability, who made a contemporaneous publi-
cation of a similar character. A controversy arose,
and pamphlets overgrown into volumes were placed
before the public. It is sufficient here to say that
Miss Adams's friends were very indignant at the
treatment she received. She herself, however, bore
the injury in the sweetest spirit of Christian charity;
and if the conversation strayed to this painful sub-
ject, she would turn it at once with a kind remark
about the person who (as she and her friends con-
ceived) had so grievously wronged her. An annual
pension was settled upon Miss Adams, to which most
of the leading men of Boston contributed, and it was
my duty to collect the amount from the subscribers
and pay it into her hands. An oil painting of this
brave American lady, who had studied Latin and
Greek and had written books, seemed to be among
TWO NOTABLE WOMEN. 333
the rights of posterity. The artist Harding was, ac-
cordingly, employed to furnish a portrait, which was
given to the Boston Athenaeum ; and there it should
ever have remained, as a memorial of the first woman
who valued the privileges of that fine library and
laboriously used them for the public good. In the
Art Museum, where it now hangs, the likeness of
this modest lady is lost in a crowd of painted celeb-
rities, and the significance of its original position is
wholly gone. It is to be hoped that the literary
women of Boston will use their influence to bring
back this portrait of Miss Adams to the institution
which should never have parted with it. There are
enough busts of men in the beautiful book-hall of
the Athenaeum to ran a nominating caucus, or, at
any rate, the more important pre-caucus, which really
does the business. I feel sure they would all agree
that the women of old days are entitled to at least
one representative in that hall ; and that Hannah
Adams, the pioneer of feminine culture in America,
should there smile upon her sisters who have beaten
a broad path where her solitary footsteps once trod.
There are persons among us, not very far past
middle life, who remember Daniel Webster in his old
age, and who will readily admit that in the third
decade of the century, when he was in vigorous ma-
turity, no nobler specimen of a man could have been
found on this planet; but these same persons may
say that the doctrine of chances wellnigh negatives
the supposition that during that third decade Boston
possessed a woman who as completely filled the ideal
334 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
of the lovely and the feminine as did Webster the
ideal of the intellectual and the masculine. Yet,
notwithstanding such pardonable incredulity, there
are a few old people still living who will justify me
in saying that this was indeed the fact, and that
centuries are likely to come and go before society
will again gaze spell-bound upon a woman so richly
endowed with beauty as was Miss Emily Marshall.
I well know the peril which lies in superlatives, —
they were made for the use of very young persons ;
but in speaking of this gracious lady even the cooling
influences of more than half a century do not enable
me to avoid them. She was simply perfect in face
and figure, and perfectly charming in manners.
In the year 1821 the fashionable walk of the town
was upon Dover Street Bridge, then known in popu-
lar parlance (out of compliment to the lovers who
were to be met there) as the Bridge of Sighs. It
stretched from South Boston to Washington Street,
and traversed a fine sheet of water, much of which
has long beeu made land. One afternoon in the year
just mentioned I was taking my customary walk upon
the bridge, and had reached a spot near where Har-
rison Avenue now crosses Dover Street, when I de-
scried approaching a well-known gentleman, who was
universally designated as Beau Watson. He was
walking with a lady whose wonderful beauty riveted
my attention. That was the first time I saw Miss
Marshall, and the time, the place, the emotion of
astonishment, are fixed indelibly in my memory.
After this the lady's name has frequent appearance
TWO NOTABLE WOMEN. 335
in my journals. On Friday, May 24, 1822 (it is
well to be accurate about dates), I met her walking
in the street with her friend, Miss Dana, and prose
was not good enough to express my sense of her
loveliness. And again, on the 7th of February, in
the following year, in my description of Mrs. Blake's
party, come the words : " Miss Marshall stood un-
rivalled. She is the most beautiful creature I ever
saw." And then I relieve my feelings in a wretched
epigram. The rhymes shall be mercifully suppressed.
Their conceit is that the goddess of beauty, out of
compliment to her lover, Mars, has herself appeared
in a form which is martial. Can any of the aged
and decayed punsters, for whom Dr. Holmes has
generously endowed an asylum, show better claim
to participate in his charity ? But Miss Marshall
has been celebrated, and in print, too, by a real poet,
— at least, we thought Mr. Percival a poet in those
simple days, — and his verses beginning
" Maid of the laughing lip and frolic eye ! "
testify to the enthusiasm she enkindled in his breast.
I could copy further notices of this lady from my
journals, were it worth while to do so. Here she is at
Mathews's last appearance before a Boston audience
(January 28, 1823), "making the theatre beautiful
by her presence." Again (it is the night of Febru-
ary 13th, the year following), a house in Franklin
Street, just by the theatre, is lighted for company,
and Miss Marshall receives her guests with such in-
finite grace of manner that one of them, at least, does
336 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
not rest before he sets down his admiration in black
and white. And this perfect personation of loveli-
ness was beloved by women no less than she was
admired by men. " What more shall I say of Miss
Marshall ? " I asked a lady who well remembers
her. And this was the reply : " Say that no envious
thought could have been possible in her presence ;
that her sunny ways were fascinating to all alike;
that she was as kind and attentive to the stupid and
tedious as if they were talented and of social promi-
nence." I suppose that not many readers of the
present day know much about the poet Mason, or
have ever heard of his lines on the death of Lady
Coventry, the famous Miss Gunning of Horace Wal-
pole's letters ; and so I will quote two of his stanzas,
which, applied to Miss Marshall, give some of her
characteristics with absolute accuracy and just as
they live in my memory.
" Whene'er with soft serenity she smiled,
Or caught the Orient blush of quick surprise,
How sweetly mutable, how brightly mild,
The liquid lustre darted from her eyes.
" Each look, each motion, waked a new-born grace
That o'er her form its transient glory cast ;
Some lovelier wonder soon usurped the place,
Chased by a charm still lovelier than the last."
The beauties of society have no longer the national
fame which they once enjoyed. During the decade
of 1820 who had not heard of the three great belles
of the country, — Miss Cora Livingston, of New Or-
leans ; Miss Julia Dickenson, of Troy ; and Miss Emily
TWO NOTABLE WOMEN. 337
Marshall, of Boston ? Two of these ladies had the
large wealth and conspicuous position of their parents
to aid them in attaining the sovereignty they exer-
cised; but Miss Marshall took the supreme place
without these aids. With her no struggle for social
recognition was necessary. She simply stood before
us a reversion to that faultless type of structure which
artists have imagined in the past, and to that ideal
loveliness of feminine disposition which poets have
placed in the mythical golden age.
22
SOME KAILKOAD INCIDENTS.
SHALL merely glance at a great subject. The
■*• story of the inside management of our earlier
railroads is aside from the purpose of the present
papers. Students of finance would be interested in
the perplexities which were surmounted, the expe-
dients that were tried, the bitter opposition that was
worked down ; but for the general reader it is suffi-
cient to say that the Massachusetts railroads were
built by patriotic men for the public benefit. Few
believed in them as investments, and the State, when
her franchise was asked, burdened it with a condition
most creditable to the foresight of her legislators. I
quote the protective clause, which permits the peo-
ple to foreclose on any one of the old railroads when-
ever they choose to do so : —
" The Commonwealth may at any time during the
continuance of a charter of any railroad corporation,
after the expiration of twenty years from the open-
ing of said railroad for use, purchase of the corpora-
tion the said railroad and all the franchise, property,
rights, and privileges of the corporation, by paying
them therefor such a sum as will reimburse them the
amount of capital paid in, with a net profit thereon
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 339
of ten per cent per annum from the time of the pay-
ment thereof by the stockholders to the time of such
purchase."
There is statesmanship looking out for to-morrow,
as well as for to-day ! Let us remember this when
we are disposed to rail at the lack of intelligence in
our democratic legislation. Proceeding upon the same
line, Massachusetts, before giving her last instalment
of assistance to the road connecting her capital with
Albany and the West, reserved the right to purchase
the same by paying the par value of the shares, with
seven per cent thereon. It would take many millions
of dollars to measure the value of these morsels of
legislation to the Bay State. It might be worth dol-
lars to be reckoned by the hundred million had all
our States similar writings upon their statute books.
It is not the actual use of such reserved rights, but
their existence in terrorem, which protects the in-
terests of society against the greed of some small
minority of its members. In 1867 I petitioned the
legislature of Massachusetts to exercise its power of
purchase in the interest of the people, and to assume
the ownership of the railroads connecting us with
the West. The mighty corporations took the field
like regular armies, well officered, well disciplined,
and with a full commissariat. The people, so far as
they could be heard from, were full of spirit ; but they
were an unorganized militia, without available funds
to provide leaders and fee lawyers. The corporations
managed to prevent a purchase, which would have
doubled the business of Boston, and, by its influence
340 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
upon other roads, would have gone far to settle the
question of cheap transportation. But the popular
feeling was so strong that the legislature was com-
pelled to give much that was wanted, though not all
that was asked. The railroads were compelled to do
something to earn the ten per cent which they ex-
acted from the public ; some of it, too, representing
no legitimate outlay in stock. On the 19th of April,
1880, my journal records a chance meeting with the
late Judge Colt, one of the able counsel who were
retained for the railroads. He spoke of the revival
of commercial interests and of the increase of gen-
eral prosperity which had resulted from the compul-
sory union of the Western and Worcester roads,
together with the fiat of the legislature, which obliged
the tracks to be carried to deep water. " You would
never have brought this about," he said, " had it not
been for that power of purchase which the State had
reserved. That was the fulcrum upon which the
lever rested by which inert masses were moved aside
for the benefit of the public." It was even so.
There was one question which could not be avoided
after the establishment of railroads : " What are the
rights of negroes in respect to this new mode of lo-
comotion ? " And the general voice of the commu-
nity replied in the usual chorus, " Neither here nor
elsewhere have they any rights which a white man
is bound to respect." The prejudice against persons
of color can be but faintly realized at the present
time. No public conveyance would carry them ; no
hotel would receive them, except as servants to a
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 341
white master. The day in May when our State gov-
ernment was organized was universally called " Nigger
'Lection," because on that day negroes were accorded
the privilege of appearing on the Common ; whereas,
if one of this class of citizens presumed to enter the
Common on Artillery Election (which took place
about a month later), he was liable to be pursued and
stoned by a crowd of roughs and boys. After the
Providence Eailroad opened the shortest route to
New York, it was found that an appreciable number
of the despised race demanded transportation. Scenes
of riot and violence took place, and in the then exist-
ing state of opinion, it seemed to me that the diffi-
culty could best be met by assigning a special car to
our colored citizens. Some of our cars were then
arranged like the old stage-coaches, — there being
three compartments upon a truck. These coaches
communicated only by a small window at the top,
and one of the compartments I assigned for the ex-
clusive use of colored persons. One morning at
Providence I entered the middle carriage, and was
presently attracted by voices in the next division, —
that allotted to travellers of the black race. I arose
and looked through the little window just mentioned,
and saw that a Southern gentleman (if by a stretch
of courtesy he may be so called) had entered the
compartment, which was occupied by a well-dressed
negro, who wore spectacles. The Southerner was
evidently much excited at finding a negro taking his
ease in a first-class carriage. There had been some
words between them, which I did not perfectly hear.
342 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
What I did hear upon taking my position at the lit-
tle window was this : Southerner. You black rascal,
so you 're a voter here, are you ? Negro. Yes, I am
a free citizen and a voter. Southerner. Well, I have
taken just such fellows as you and tied them up
by their thumbs and whipped them till the blood ran
down to their heels. Negro. Then, sir, you shed your
brother's blood. Southerner. Why, you nigger,
you don't mean to say that I 'm your brother ? Ne-
gro. Yes ; for it is written that " He made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of
the earth." The effect of this quotation was as the
last straw upon the burdened camel. It fairly broke
the patience of the knightly personage who had en-
tered the carriage. He instantly sprang upon the
negro, catching him by the collar ; and almost as
quickly I entered the compartment and ordered him
to desist.
" Well, who are you ? " said the assailant, with a
mighty oath. I replied that I was the president of
the road, and should see that he was arrested if he
did not immediately leave the carriage ; and, having
said this, I added a few words of measureless con-
tempt for his conduct. Muttering some profanity,
the man left the compartment, while I called the
conductor to show him to the proper coach. At that
time the trains made quite a stop at Mansfield, dur-
ing which most of the passengers left the cars. I
was standing upon the platform of that way-station,
when the Southerner approached me, with a beaming
face and all the suavity of manner which was charac-
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 343
teristic of slaveholders when upon their good behav-
ior at the North. He gracefully apologized for his
conduct, saying that he was not accustomed to see
negroes treated as white persons, and that the sud-
den introduction to such a spectacle had caused an
excitement that he was unable to control. Before
he had finished speaking, we were joined by the
negro, who, in a manner no less gentlemanly, thanked
me for my interference, and, producing a handsome
pocket-book, offered me his card. The amazement
with which the gentleman from the South regarded
this proceeding is altogether indescribable. His blank
and helpless astonishment was of the sort which might
be succeeded by a burst of indignation or a burst of
laughter. Fortunately the comic side of this latter-
day warning at length succeeded in making itself
predominant.
" Well, take me home ! " he said. " I 've seen all I
came for. Spectacles were good ; but a nigger with
a visiting-card ! It just knocks me down and makes
me as weak as a baby. A nigger with a visiting-
card ! Well, I am surely dreaming, and that 's a
fact."
The above incident is an extreme illustration of a
state of feeling which has happily passed away. Its
inhumanity was only equalled by its vulgarity. The
existence of slavery in the Southern States presented
a difficult problem to thoughtful and patriotic citi-
zens, and good men were unable to agree upon the
path of duty.
The sources from which mighty rivers take their
344 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
rise have always been interesting to explorers. They
find some petty rivulet, which oozes out of the mud,
and marvel that its feeble current should swell till
it bears the commerce of a nation. The beginnings
of great departments of human enterprise have some-
thing of the same interest, and I have just found an
old letter, addressed to me on the 27th of October,
1838, which led to results quite overpowering in
their magnitude. The writer is William F. Harnden.
He tells me that he has applied for a post of con-
ductor upon the Western Kailroad, and solicits my
influence, as treasurer of the road, " should you think
me worthy of the office." Harnden had been selling
tickets at the Worcester Eailroad depot, but found
this occupation much too sedentary for his active
nature. He was a man who wanted to be moving.
For some reason, which I do not recall, Harnden did
not get the conductorship ; but his application brought
me in contact with this lithe, intelligent young fellow,
who wished to be on the go, and I suggested to him
a new sort of business, which in the hands of a bright
man I thought might, be pushed to success. As
director and president of the Providence Eailroad, I
was compelled to make weekly journeys to New
York, where the bulk of our stock was held. The
days of my departure were well known, and I was
always met at the depot by a bevy of merchants'
clerks, who wished to intrust packages of business
papers, samples of goods, and other light matters to
my care. The mail establishment was at that time
utterly insufficient to meet the wants of the public.
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 345
The postage was seventeen cents upon every separate
bit of paper, and this was a burdensome tax upon the
daily checks, drafts, and receipts incident to mercan-
tile transactions. I was ready to be of service to my
friends, though some of them thought my good nature
was imposed upon when they found that I was obliged
to carry a large travelling-bag to receive their con-
tributions. I kept this bag constantly in sight on
my journey, and, upon arriving in New York, deliv-
ered it to a man whom the merchants employed to
meet me and distribute its contents. Now, it oc-
curred to me that here was an opportunity for some-
body to do, for an adequate compensation, just what
I was doing for nothing. I pointed out to Mr. Harn-
den that the collection and delivery of parcels, as
well as their transportation, might be undertaken by
one responsible person, for whose services the mer-
chants would be glad to pay. The suggestion fell
upon fruitful soil. Harnden asked me for special
facilities upon the Boston and Providence road, which
I gladly gave him, and with the opening year he
commenced regular trips (twice a week, I think he
made them), bearing in his hand a small valise ; and
that valise contained in germ the immense express
business, — contained it as the acorn contains the
forest of oaks that may come from it ; but many gen-
erations are required to see the magnificence of the
forests, while the growths of human enterprise ex-
pand to their wonderful maturity in one short life.
Harnden's fate was that too common with pioneers
and inventors. He built up a great business by steady
346 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
industry, saw all its splendid possibilities, tried to
realize them before the time was ripe, and died a
poor man, at the age of thirty-three. In attempting
to extend the express business to Europe, he assumed
risks that were ruinous, and the stalwart Vermonter,
Alvin Adams, took his place as chief in the great
industry which had arisen under his hands. 1
" When you speak of the opposition that our early
railroads encountered," said a young man to me the
other day, " you refer, of course, to the difficulty of
inducing people to take stock in them. Nobody
could have objected to the increase of facilities for
transportation, provided he was not asked to pay the
bills." But it happened that I did mean just what
I said; and perhaps the most singular phenomenon
in the history of early railroads was the bitter oppo-
sition they encountered from leading men, whose
convenience and pecuniary interests they were di-
rectly to promote. The believer in railroads was not
only obliged to do the work and pay the bills for
the advantage of his short-sighted neighbor, but, as
Shakespeare happily phrases it, " cringe and sue for
1 It may be worth while to mention that after the publication
of this paper the author received a newspaper cutting which chal-
lenged his title to the first suggestion of Harnden's Express. His
remark was that, as the business was clearly called for, a similar
suggestion might have come from twenty others, and that the ques-
tion of priority would be as difficult to settle as it was unimportant.
He found nothing to alter in his printed statement. He believed
himself to have been the first expressman after the manner narrated
in the text, and was sure that he had advised Mr. Harnden to suc-
ceed him as the second.
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 347
leave to do him good." Can I furnish proof of this
incredible statement ? Yes, I have it before me at
this moment, and it is worth giving with some detail.
The old town of Dorchester, which some years ago
was annexed to Boston, has within its ancient limits
nine railroad stations, and at those most frequented
about fifty trains stop daily. The main road, known
as the Old Colony, passes over a route which I caused
to be surveyed at my own expense, with the view of
providing cheap transportation for the towns of Dor-
chester and Quincy and others to the south of them.
I need not say that the land made accessible by this
railroad has become very valuable, and that the busi-
ness and population of the old town of Dorchester
cluster about the stations. If any tyrant could tear
up those tracks and prevent them from being relaid,
his action would paralyze a prosperous community,
and might well be called a calamity by those most
careful in weighing their words. Now, can the reader
believe that the very word I have Italicized was
chosen so late as 1842 by the inhabitants of the town
of Dorchester, in regular town-meeting, assembled to
express their sense of the injury that would result to
them and their possessions by laying a railroad track
through any portion of their territory ? No, there
can be no mistake about it. Here is the report of
their meeting, authentic in contemporaneous type,
and duly attested by Mr. Thomas J. Tolman, town
clerk. A leading business man was chosen modera-
tor, and a committee of six prominent citizens was
appointed to oppose the passage of a railroad through
348 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
the town. The resolutions are worth reporting with
some fulness. The first declares it to be the opinion
of the inhabitants of the town of Dorchester that a
railroad upon either of the lines designated by those
asking for a charter " will be of incalculable evil to
the town generally, in addition to the immense sacri-
fice of private property which will also be involved.
A great portion of the road will lead through thickly
settled and populous parts of the town, crossing and
running contiguous to public highways, and thereby
making a permanent obstruction to a free intercourse
of our citizens, and creating great and enduring dan-
ger and hazard to all travel upon the common roads.''
The second resolution declares that if, in spite of the
protest of the inhabitants of Dorchester, their town
must be blighted by a railroad, " it should be located
upon the marshes and over creeks," and by thus
avoiding all human habitations and business resorts
" a less sacrifice will be made of private property and
a much less injury inflicted upon the town and public
generally." The concluding resolution is one of those
jewels (rather more than five words long) that must
suffer by any curtailment : —
"Resolved, That our representatives be instructed
to use their utmost endeavors to prevent, if possible,
so great a calamity to our town as must be the location
of any railroad through it; and, if that cannot be
prevented, to diminish this calamity as far as possible
by confining the location to the route herein desig-
nated."
The Italics are, of course, mine. They are quite
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 349
irresistible. But when "calamities" threaten, the
good man does not do his whole duty by protesting
in town-meeting. There is the powerful agency of
the press, throughout which oppressors may be re-
buked and their horrible projects brought to naught.
Let me quote a few extracts from a newspaper arti-
cle. It was written by a citizen of Dorchester and
appeared shortly after the meeting. The writer has
been speaking of existing facilities for water trans-
portation, which he thinks should content certain in-
habitants of the town of Quincy who are petitioning
for a railroad.
" What better or more durable communication can
be had than the Neponset River or the wide Atlantic ?
By using these, no thriving village will be destroyed,
no enterprising mechanics ruined, no beautiful gar-
dens and farms made desolate, and no public or pri-
vate interests most seriously affected. Look at the
rapid growth of Neponset village, through which this
contemplated road is to run (the citizens of which
are as enterprising and active as can be found, many
of whom have invested their all either in trade, me-
chanics, manufactures, or real estate), and all — all are
to be sacrificed under a car ten thousand times worse
for the public than the car of Juggernaut ! Look at
the interests, for instance, of the public house in this
place, kept by a most estimable citizen, who has
ever — "
But I have no heart to copy further. In the wreck
of an entire community we can spare no tears for the
woes of a single tavern-keeper. The ruins of that
350 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
once prosperous village of Neponset are, even to this
day, visited by reflective tourists. I think I men-
tioned that the Old Colony Company has a way of
stopping some fifty trains there, in order to accom-
modate moralists, who take a melancholy satisfaction
in musing among them.
Yes, of all the difficulties that were met in estab-
lishing locomotion by steam, the obstruction offered
by blind, stolid, unreasoning conservatism was not
the least. It required not only men of foresight, but
those of strong enthusiasm, like my old friend, Mr.
P. P. F. Degrand, to tunnel through these craggy
prejudices. There is a certain vital energy which
thrills in French nerves in greater plenitude than in
those of other nationalities, and this Boston broker
had enough of it to run a Napoleon. I used to enrich
an old lecture, entitled " Our Obligations to France,"
with a sketch of Degrand, — a man not famous as
the world goes, but one to whom the public is far
more indebted than to many of the politicians who
get their column in the biographical dictionaries.
To the older railroad men of Massachusetts her
iron thoroughfares are consecrated ground, — conse-
crated by the labor, the anxieties, the sacrifices which
they cost. They are monuments to the public spirit
of the dead, not vulgar instruments for extorting a
maximum of money for a minimum of service. There
is probably no short and precise solution to the diffi-
cult problem which the private control of these arte-
ries of the body politic presents to thoughtful men.
The railroads have come to hold a power which should
SOME RAILROAD INCIDENTS. 351
only be committed to the State, unless, indeed, some
way can be devised of holding their managers to
strict accountability. I have said elsewhere what I
have had to say upon this subject, and will avoid the
temptation of mingling prophecies and suggestions
with the uncontroversial matter which belongs to
reminiscences.
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS.
I.
WAS fairly startled, a few days ago, at the re-
■*- mark of a young friend who is something of a
student of American history. " Of course," said he,
" General Jackson was not what you would call a
gentleman ! " Now, although I had only a holiday
acquaintance with the General, and although a man
certainly puts on his best manners when undergoing
a public reception, the fact was borne in upon me that
the seventh President was, in essence, a knightly per-
sonage, — prejudiced, narrow, mistaken upon many
points, it might be, but vigorously a gentleman in his
high sense of honor and in the natural straightfor-
ward courtesies which are easily to be distinguished
from the veneer of policy ; and I was not prepared
to be favorably impressed with a man who was sim-
ply intolerable to the Brahmin caste of my native
State. Had not the Jackson organs teemed with
abuse of my venerated friend, John Adams ? Had
not the legislature of New Hampshire actually
changed the name of a town from Adams to Jack-
son ; thereby performing a contemptible act of flat-
tery, which, to the excited imaginations of the period,
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 353
seemed sufficient to discredit republican government
forever after ? Had not this man driven from their
places the most faithful officers of government, to
satisfy a spirit of persecution relentless and bitter be-
yond precedent ?
I did not forget these things when I received Gov-
ernor Lincoln's order to act as special aide-de-camp
to the President during his visit to Massachusetts ;
and I felt somewhat out of place when I found my-
self advancing from one side of Pawtucket Bridge
(on the morning of June 20, 1833) to meet a slen-
der, military-looking person, who had just left the
Ehode Island side of that structure. Lawyers are
credited with the capacity of being equally fluent
upon all sides of a question ; and if I had suddenly
received orders to express to General Jackson my
detestation of his presidential policy, I think I should
have been equal to the occasion. My business, how-
ever, was to deliver an address of welcome, and here
was Jackson himself, advancing in solitary state to
hear it. Well in the rear of the chief walked the
Vice-President and heir-apparent, Martin Van Buren ;
and slowly following came the Secretaries of War and
the Navy, Cass and Woodbury. It is awkward to
make a formal speech to one man, and I missed the
crowd which the military upon both sides of the
bridge were keeping upon terra firma. I seemed to
be the mouthpiece of nobody but myself. The ad-
dress somehow got itself delivered, the distinguished
guest made his suitable reply, and then we walked
together to the fine barouche and four which was to
23
354 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
take us through the State. The , President and Vice-
President were waved to the back of the carriage,
Colonel Washburn and myself occupied the front
seat, the Cabinet were accommodated with chariots
somewhat less triumphal behind us, the artillery fired
(breaking many windows in Pawtucket, for which
the State paid a goodly bill), and we were off.
Our first stop was for breakfast, at Attleborough,
after which meal we visited the manufactories of jew-
elry for which the town is famous. " You have been
interfering with our business, Mr. President," said the
manager of one of these establishments, " and should
feel bound in honor to take these buttons off our
hands." So saying, he produced numerous cards of
buttons stamped with the palmetto tree. These, he
said, had been ordered by the Southern nullifiers as
distinguishing badges ; but they had been rendered
quite worthless by the President's proclamation.
Jackson made some reply, that I did not catch, and
seemed greatly amused at the discovery that treason
in South Carolina had its commercial value in Massa-
chusetts. And here let me say that it was that
famous proclamation at the close of 1832 which gave
its author the hearty reception he received among us.
Indeed, the reception might have been called enthu-
siastic by one who had not witnessed the great wave
of popular emotion which bore Lafayette through
Massachusetts, eight years before. Such an uprising
as that is not likely to be seen again in the world's
history ; but Jackson had come to us at a period when
his bitterest opponents, if not quite ready to forget
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 355
their grievances in view of the sturdy stand he had
taken in behalf of the Union, were prepared to re-
main in the background and make no protest to mar
the popular cordiality.
As we rode through divers small towns, receiving
salutes and cheers at their centres, the President
talked constantly and expressed himself with great
freedom about persons. His conversation was inter-
esting from its sincerity, decision, and point. It was
easy to see that he was not a man to accept a dif-
ference of opinion with equanimity; but that was
clearly because, he being honest and earnest, Heaven
would not suffer his opinions to be other than right.
Mr. Van Buren, on the other hand, might have posed
for a statue of Diplomacy. He had the softest way
of uttering his cautious observations, and evidently
considered the impression every word would make.
At Eoxbury, which we reached about four o'clock
in the afternoon, we found a triumphal arch, and
Mr. Jonathan Dorr to speak for the assembled citi-
zens. The orator was, mercifully, very brief ; indeed,
his speech consisted of little more than an original
couplet, which, if not quite so melodious as some of
Pope's, had doubtless the sincerity which the Twick-
enham poet often failed to put into his compositions.
" And may his powerful arm long remain nerved
Who said : Tlie Union, it must be preserved ! "
" Sir," exclaimed Jackson, in reply, " it shall be pre-
served as long as there is a nerve in this arm !" Both
of which speeches are concentrated enough to keep.
Those who want rhetoric can add it for themselves,
356
FIGURES OF THE PAST.
as we do water to the Brunswick soups. I was de-
termined that General Jackson should enter Boston
in the saddle, as I knew he greatly preferred this
mode of locomotion. Horses had been ordered to
be in readiness at the Norfolk House, and the Presi-
dent rejoiced in spirit as he threw his leg over the
fine animal which had been provided for him. My.
neighbor, Mr. Thomas J. Claflin (the veteran conduc-
tor of the Old Colony Kailroad), tells me that, as a
boy in the crowd, he saw Jackson mount his horse
that day. He remembers how the General fell for-
ward upon the neck of the animal, as an old and
tired man might do ; then recovering himself he shot
upwards, as if impelled by a spring, to the stiff sol-
dierly position : it was a sight not to be forgotten.
But, alas ! the dismounting was soon to follow ; for
at the city line we came upon the mayor, seated in a
barouche, and this functionary would by no means
consent to have the President enter his dominions
otherwise than at his side. We timidly pleaded that
the President had been driven through a long day,
and found himself much refreshed by a change of
position. It was of no use. Civic etiquette was
paramount, and the poor man was made to descend
from the elevation to which he had risen with such
buoyancy. The staff, however, might do as they
pleased. So Colonel Washburn and I rode on either
side of the august party in the carriage, to our great
contentment.
I have no idea of providing my readers with free
passes to the banquets, collations, military manceu-
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 357
vres, and ceremonial visits which followed the Presi-
dent's arrival. There is, however, one little matter
about which I was blamed most unjustly, which the
muse of history may now be requested to put right.
On the afternoon of the 21st there was a review of
the Boston Brigade, then under the command of
General Tyler and in admirable condition. I had
engaged trained parade horses for the Cabinet and
suite, as I supposed they would all follow the Presi-
dent to the field ; but in the course of the morning
Mr. Van Buren told me that he had consulted the
other gentlemen, and that they had decided unani-
mously not to appear at the review. As there was
a great demand for horses, I sent word to the livery
stable that those I had engaged would not be re-
quired, and they were, of course, instantly taken by
officers of the Brigade. After dinner, however, the
Vice-President sent for me, and said that he and his
friends had reversed their decision, and now wanted
horses to go to the review. I frankly told him that
I had given up the animals that had been engaged,
and that the party must now take such leavings as
might be had. Eemembering that, from a militia
standpoint, the trappings are about seven eighths of
the horse, I at once ordered the finest military sad-
dles, with the best quadrupeds under them that were
procurable. They appeared in due time, and we
mounted and proceeded to the field in good order;
but the moment we reached the Common the tremen-
dous discharge of artillery which saluted the Presi-
dent scattered the Cabinet in all directions. Van
358 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Buren was a good horseman and kept his seat ; but,
having neither whip nor spur, found himself com-
pletely in the pow T er of his terrified animal, who,
commencing a series of retrograde movements of a
most unmilitary character, finally brought up w T ith
bis tail against the fence which then separated the
Mall from the Common, and refused to budge another
inch. In the mean time the President and his staff
had galloped cheerfully round the troops and taken
up their position on the rising ground near the foot
of Joy Street, to receive the marching salute. " Why,
where 's the Vice-President ? " suddenly exclaimed
Jackson, turning to me for an explanation. " About
as nearly on the fence as a gentleman of his positive
political convictions is likely to get," said I, pointing
him out. I felt well enough acquainted with Jack-
son by this time to venture upon a little pleasantry.
"That's very true," said the old soldier, laughing
heartily ; " and you 've matched him with a horse
who is even more non-committal than his rider.''
Now, the Democrats were very sensitive about Mr.
Van Buren, and among them started a report that I
had provided their prince imperial with this pre-
posterous horse in order to put him in a ridiculous
position. I was much annoyed by this story, and,
although it may be thought a little late to give it a
formal contradiction through the press, 1 feel con-
strained to do so. It was the Vice-President's own
fault, and no neglect on the part of the managing
aide-de-camp, that placed him in a position to which
his party so reasonably objected.
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 359
On Monday the President was confined to his
room and, indeed, to his bed by indisposition. He
asked me to read the newspapers to him, and took
great delight in the narratives of Jack Downing (the
Mark Twain of the period), who purported to accom-
pany the presidential party and to chronicle its doings.
"The Vice-President must have written that," said
Jackson, after some specially happy hit. "Depend
upon it, Jack Downing is only Van Buren in mas-
querade." If it were permitted to doubt the infalli-
bility of the medical faculty, I should have questioned
whether phlebotomy was the best prescription in the
world for the thin elderly gentleman upon the bed ;
but when my valued family physician, Dr. Warren,
twice guided the lancet, a layman's dissent would
have been preposterous. I remember, upon another
occasion, standing over the bedside of a friend pros-
trated by a not uncommon disorder and instinctively
protesting when three of the most eminent physicians
of Boston declared that there was no safetv but in a
thorough blood-letting. I mentioned the disorder in
question to a distinguished doctor of the present day,
and asked him whether bleeding would be resorted
to in its treatment. " Never ! " was the prompt reply.
"Not under any circumstances?" "Under no cir-
cumstances whatever ! " was the answer. Now, no
sensible person would speak otherwise than respect-
fully of the faculties of theology, law, medicine, or
science ; and yet it does not require the teachings of
history, but only the observation of a single lifetime,
to suggest that the instincts of intelligent laymen,
360 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
when opposed to the dicta of these august bodies,
are — well, I will say, worth considering.
General Jackson's illness kept him closely confined
for two days, and prevented his witnessing the en-
trance of the frigate "Constitution" to the new dry
dock at the Charlestown Navy Yard. I attended
Mr. Van Buren to this spectacle, and saw Commodore
Isaac Hull, with a huge silver trumpet in his hand,
giving commands from the same quarter-deck upon
which he had stood during the memorable battle with
the "Guerriere." I well remember the visit which
this gallant commander paid to my father, at Quincy,
only a day or two after this famous sea-fight. I was
a boy then, and had among my possessions the hull
of a toy vessel. This my mother asked me to show
her guest, who would tell me if it was a good model.
I produced it with some reluctance, saying that it
was not much of a ship, for it had no masts. " Well
it has as many masts as the 'Guerriere'!" was the
reply which the bluff sailor stamped for life upon my
memory.
The morning of Wednesday, the 25th, was chilly
and overcast, not at all the sort of day for an invalid
to encounter the fatigues of travel and reception. At
ten o'clock, nevertheless, the President appeared, and
took his seat in the barouche, and was greeted with-
the acclamations which will always be forthcoming
when democratic sovereignty is seen embodied in
flesh and blood. Very little flesh in this case, how-
ever, and only such trifle of blood as the doctors had
thought not worth appropriating. But the spirit in
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 361
Jackson was resolute to conquer physical infirmity.
His eye seemed brighter than ever, and all aglow with
the mighty will which can compel the body to exe-
cute its behests. He was full of conversation, as we
drove to Cambridge, to get that doctorate whose be-
stowal occasioned many qualms to the high-toned
friends of Harvard. College degrees were then sup-
posed to have a meaning which has long ago gone
out of them ; and to many excellent persons it seemed
a degrading mummery to dub a man Doctor of Laws
who was credited with caring for no laws whatever
which conflicted with his personal will. John Quincy
Adams, I remember, was especially disturbed at this
academic recognition of Jackson, and actually asked
my father, who was then president of the College,
whether there was no way of avoiding it. "Why,
no," was the reply. "As the people have twice de-
cided that this man knows law enough to be their
ruler, it is not for Harvard College to maintain that
they are mistaken." But Mr. Adams was not satis-
fied, and the bitter generalization of his diary that
"time-serving and sycophancy are the qualities of all
learned and scientific institutions " was certainly not
to be modified by his successor's visit to Cambridge.
It did not require Jack Downing' s fun to show the
delicious absurdity of giving Jackson a literary de-
gree; but the principle that wandering magistrates,
whether of state or nation, might claim this distinc-
tion had been firmly established, and there were dif-
ficulties in limiting its application.
362
FIGURES OF THE PAST.
II.
There is a familiar expression by which news-
paper reporters denote the strong current of feeling
which sometimes runs through an assembly, and yet
reaches no audible sound of applause or censure. It
has been decided that the word [sensation], put in
brackets as it is here printed, shall convey those
tremors of apprehension or criticism which cannot
be exhibited with defiiiiteness. Nobody who knows
anything about Harvard College can doubt that there
will be sensation whenever the people decide that
Governor B. F. Butler shall appear upon the stage of
Sanders Theatre to receive the compliment of the
highest degree which can there be offered ; but I will
venture to say that an emotion much stronger than
this was felt by the throng which filled the Col-
lege Chapel when Andrew Jackson, leaning upon the
arm of my father, entered the building from which
he was to depart a Doctor of Laws. Fifty years have
taught sensible men to estimate college training at its
true worth. It is now clear that it does not furnish
the exclusive entrance to paths of the highest honor.
The career of Abraham Lincoln has made impossible
a certain academic priggishness which belonged to
an earlier period of our national existence. Jackson's
ignorance of books was perhaps exaggerated, and
his more useful knowledge of things and human re-
lations was not apparent to his political opponents,
to whom the man was but a dangerous bundle of
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 363
chimeras and prejudices ; but I do not need the
testimony of a diary now before me to confirm the
statement that his appearance before that Cambridge
audience instantly produced a toleration which quickly
merged into something like admiration and respect.
The name of Andrew Jackson was, indeed, one to
frighten naughty children with ; but the person who
went by it wrought a mysterious charm upon old and
young. Beacon Street had been undemonstrative as
we passed down that Brahmin thoroughfare, on our
way to Cambridge ; but a few days later I heard an
incident characteristic enough to be worth telling.
Mr. Daniel P. Parker, a well-known Boston mer-
chant, had come to his window to catch a glimpse of
the guest of the State, regarding him very much as he
might have done some dangerous monster which was
being led captive past his house. But the sight of
the dignified figure of Jackson challenged a respect
which the good merchant felt he must pay by^proxy, if
not in person. " Do some one come here and salute
the old man ! " he suddenly exclaimed. And a little
daughter of Mr. Parker was thrust forward to wave
her handkerchief to the terrible personage whose do-
ings had been so offensive to her elders.
The exercises in the Chapel were for the most part
in Latin. My father addressed the President in that
language, repeating a composition upon which he
somewhat prided himself, for Dr. Beck, after making
two verbal corrections in his manuscript, had declared
it to be as good Latin as a man need write. Then
we had some more Latin from young Mr. Francis
364 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
Bowen, of the senior class, a gentleman whose name
has since been associated with so much fine and
weighty English. There were also a few modest
words, presumably in the vernacular, though scarcely
audible, from the recipient of the doctorate.
But it has already been intimated that there were
two Jacksons who were at that time making the tour
of New England. One was the person whom I have
endeavored to describe ; the other may be called the
Jackson of comic myth, whose adventures were mi-
nutely set forth by Mr. Jack Downing and his brother
humorists. The Harvard degree, as bestowed upon
this latter personage, offered a situation which the
chroniclers of the grotesque could in no wise resist.
A hint of Downing was seized upon and expanded
as it flew from mouth to mouth, until, at last, it has
actually been met skulking near the back door of
history in a form something like this. General Jack-
son, upon being harangued in Latin, found himself
in a position of immense perplexity. It was simply
decent for him to reply in the learned language in
which he was addressed ; but, alas ! the Shakespearian
modicum of " small Latin " was all that Old Hickory
possessed, and what he must do was clearly to rise
to the situation and make the most of it. There were
those college fellows, chuckling over his supposed
humiliation ; but they were to meet a man who was
not to be caught in the classical trap they had set for
him. Eising to his feet just at the proper moment,
the new Doctor of Laws astonished the assembly
with a Latin address, in which Dr. Beck himself was
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 365
unable to discover a single error. A brief quotation
from this eloquent production will be sufficient to
exhibit its character : " Caveat emptor : corpus delicti :
ex post facto : dies irae : e pluribus unum : usque ad
nauseam : Ursa Major : sic semper tyrannis : quid
pro quo : requiescat in pace." Now this foolery was
immensely taking in the day of it; and mimics were
accustomed to throw social assemblies into paroxysms
of delight by imitating Jackson in the delivery of his
Latin speech. The story was, on the whole, so good,
as showing how the man of the people could triumph
over the crafts and subtleties of classical pundits,
that all Philistia wanted to believe it. And so it
came to pass that, as time went on, part of Philistia
did believe it, for I have heard it mentioned as an
actual occurrence by persons who may not shrink
from a competitive examination in history whenever
government offices are to be entered through that
portal. Human annals get muddied by the wits, as
well as by the sentimentalists. Some taking rhap-
sody, be it of humor or fancy, is flung in the direc-
tion of an innocent mortal, and the best historian
cannot wash him quite clean of it. Vainly, I fear,
does Mr. Samuel Ptoads, Jr., prove to the readers of
his book that the "horrd horrt" of Skipper Ireson
may have been quite as tender as Mr. Whittier's, and
that " the women of Marblehead " were presumably
in bed when that unlucky mariner took his dismal
ride through their town. Ah ! Mr. Phillips, let us
not altogether despise the poor "fribbles" who keep
journals. They do manage to keep a few myths out
366 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
of history, after all. For in spite of the matchless
oration we listened to the other day, 1 I venture to
advise my younger readers to make some record of
what they see and learn. It improves the observing
powers, strengthens the memory, and impresses life's
lessons upon the mind. * You can count on the fin-
gers of your two hands all the robust minds that
have kept journals," says my eminent friend. Well,
perhaps you can ; but I think it might require all the
hands of Briareus to number the robust minds that
have lamented that they took no written note of the
scenes and persons among which they passed. Most
pathetic in its regret was the language I have heard
from Judge Story and other first-class men respecting
this omission. It has rung in my ears when, tired
and full of business, I was disposed to shirk the task.
So let us possess our souls in patience even if our
"sixpenny neighbor" is keeping a journal. "Be-
spectable mediocrity" though he be, he may prove
a check upon some future orator as charming as
Mr. Phillips, — but, alas, far less scrupulous, — whose
instinct for rhetorical effect might tempt him to
turn some wholesome human biography into a pane-
gyric or a satire. Surely any competent historian
may discern whether a given diary reflects the un-
changeable heavens, or only the fogs which shut in
the writer of it. Whoever mistook BoswelTs judg-
ments for the judgments of anybody but Boswell ; yet
who would give up the scenes and characters which
1 See the Phi Beta Kappa oration by Wendell Phillips, June 30,
1881.
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 367
that note-book of his so exquisitely photographs ?
It is Arthur Helps who says that poor " sixpenny "
Pepys has given us "the truest book that ever was
written ; " — no slight praise this, as it seems to me.
But let not the reader fear that any chronicles of
mine shall be catalogued among the diaries and jour-
nals from which Mr. Phillips would deliver us. I
have taken stringent measures to secure him and
his posterity from so great a calamity.
To return to the real Jackson, who held what
Dickens says Americans call a le-vee, after the ex-
ercises in the chapel. He stood at one end of the
low parlor of the President's house, and bowed to
the students as they passed him. "I am most
happy to see you, gentlemen," he said ; " I wish you
all much happiness ; " " Gentlemen, I heartily wish
you success in life ; " and so on, constantly varying
the phrase, which was always full of feeling. The
President had begun his reception by offering his
hand to all who approached ; but he found that this
would soon drain the small strength which must
carry him through the day. He afterward made an
exception in favor of two pretty children, daughters
of Dr. Palfrey. He took the hands of these little
maidens, and then lifted them up and kissed them.
It was a pleasant sight, — one not to be omitted when
the events of the day were put upon paper. This
rough soldier, exposed all his life to those tempta-
tions which have conquered public men whom we
still call good, could kiss little children with lips
as pure as their own.
368 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
From Cambridge we drove to Charlestown, where
we had an address from Mr. Everett, a climb to the
top of the unfinished monument, two weary hours
of processioning about the town, and the inevitable
collation. These unexpected performances greatly
fatigued the feeble President, and spoiled the pro-
gramme I had arranged for the day. He would go
through it all, despite the remonstrances of his party.
" These people have made their arrangements to wel-
come me," he said, " and so long as I am not on my
back I will gratify them." We were, accordingly,
some hours behind time when we reached Lynn, and
here it was evident to us all that Jackson must lie
upon his back during our stay in the town. To bed
he was accordingly put for an hour or two, while his
Cabinet and suite did such justice as they could to
the noble feast which had been provided in his honor.
But, alas ! we had already had three periods of feed-
ing that very day, and two more were in prospect
before its close. Oh for that happy device of the
leathern bag, with which Jack the Giant-Killer was
accustomed to increase his capacity before accepting
the hospitalities of his Cyclopean enemies, and which
prevented the killing to be done from going the wrong
way. Fifty years ago such an expedient would have
been a mercy to greatness upon its travels, as well as
to the insignificancies following in its wake. Let me
note one step away from barbarism which has cer-
tainly been taken since my youth. It now seems
possible to decline meats and drinks, when one has
no occasion for them, without injuring the feelings
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 369
or reflecting upon the cookery of those who [offer
them.
We allowed the President all the repose he thought
necessary, and then pressed on to Marblehead, a town
overwhelmingly Democratic and so holding itself to
have undoubted claims upon General Jackson. Prep-
arations for a grand banquet had of course been
made, and great was the indignation when, after a
brief pause, I gave the order to proceed on our way
and leave the viands untasted. The fact was that the
President's indisposition had so increased that it was
impossible for us to remain, and it was in accordance
with his request that we made all speed for Salem.
Some days after I was served with a copy of a local
journal, with a marked paragraph, in which a certain
conceited fellow, in epaulets, who was ordering about
the President of the United States, was severely
dealt with, and was strongly advised never to show
his face again in Marblehead, as there was no telling
what treatment he might receive at the hands of an
outraged people. I have, however, dared to lecture in
that interesting old town, and somehow managed to
escape the popular fury with which I was threatened.
We had an anxious drive to Salem, as the Presi-
dent was becoming weaker every moment. On reach-
ing the town, I ordered all formalities of reception to
be cut from the programme and hurried to the hotel
by the shortest route. I felt relieved of a burden of
responsibility when Jackson was safe in bed and un-
der the direction of proper medical attendants. But
a procession had been organized and had been long
370 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
waiting our appearance, to trail its colors and trap*
pings about the streets of the town. We did not
think of telegraphing the President's condition from
Charlestown, or even of sending a messenger by the
railroad to tell the Salem people to postpone their
celebration. Do not judge us harshly, you young
people, who have been born into a world which is run
by steam, electricity, and newspaper extras. If Ham-
let is to be left out of the play, the little omission
is well advertised beforehand, and those who take no
interest in the rest of the characters have the option of
staying at home. But we were living before the days
when everybody knows everything which is going on
in the world, and for us there was nothing to be done
but to go through a grand Jackson reception, without
any Jackson. After some delay the Presidential
barouche, Mr. Van Buren and myself now occupying
the back seat thereof, was got into its place in the or-
der of march. It was now verging toward dark, and
a clamorous welcome was accorded to that barouche,
as it followed the band about the streets. Indeed,
the immense interest we excited soon forced upon me
the very unpleasant conviction that the aide-de-camp
of the Governor of Massachusetts was passing for
the President of the United States. And naturally
enough, too ; for there was really no way of inform-
ing the crowd that Jackson was necessarily absent
from his ovation, and it seemed clear to them that
the person in the cocked hat, with gold lace trim-
mings, who was riding by the side of the Vice-Presi-
dent could be no other than their favorite general. The
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 371
situation was awkward enough. I could only ride
bolt upright, gazing stolidly at vacancy, and urge
Mr. Van Buren to accept the applause as his personal
dues and to bow graciously right and left ; but this
the modest gentleman was very loath to do, for it was
obvious that the bursts of enthusiasm were never in-
tended for him. We were both glad enough to get out
of a preposterous scrape, which a few clicks of the
modern telegraph would have enabled us to avoid.
No person who had seen the collapsed condition
in which the President was deposited at the hotel
would have imagined that he could resume his trav-
els the next day; and it was, undoubtedly, by an
exertion of the will of which only the exceptional
man is capable that he was able to do so. But the
art of mastering the physical nature was familiar to
Jackson, who had gone through the fatigues of gen-
eralship in the field when supported only by a few
grains of rice. An immaterial something flashed
through his eye as he greeted us in the breakfast-
room, and it was evident that the faltering body was
again held in subjection. After a brief visit to the
East India Museum, we set off for Andover. The
weather was perfect. The President was brighter
than I had yet seen him, and well disposed to talk.
" And now, General," said Mr. Van Buren, when we
were fairly on our way, " tell us all about the battle
of New Orleans, whereof, like Desdemona, by parcels
I have something heard, but not intentively." And
the hero of that wonderful fight, occasionally stimu-
lated by a few questions, gave us the story as he
372 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
remembered it. It was, undoubtedly, the most inter-
esting narrative I ever heard, and my journal pre-
serves — not one word of it. Upon one point only
my memory is distinct. Jackson certainly asserted
that the watchword " Booty and Beauty " had been
given by General Packenham, — asserted it as if it
were a fact within his personal knowledge ; yet we
know he was mistaken, as his admirable biographer,
Mr. Parton, has conclusively shown.
How inexplicable are the freaks of memory ! It
relaxes its hold upon things we would gladly recall,
and then offers us some wretched trifle, as if it were
a golden proverb into which the world's wisdom had
been distilled. While I cannot give a sentence
from Jackson's thrilling story of the battle, I can
quote verbatim a scrap of after-dinner talk which oc
curred after we had partaken of the Andover colla-
tion and were driving toward Lowell. The day was
growing sultry and the Vice-President began to nod.
" Jackson (slapping his neighbor on the knee). Why,
sir, are you going to sleep ? Van Buren. Well,
yes. On a warm day, after dinner, it is my habit to
catch a nap. Jackson. That argues that you pos-
sess a more peaceful conscience than your political
adversaries give you credit for. Van Buren. You are
right, sir. It argues not only a quiet conscience, but
an unambitious mind." How is it that I can repeat
that poor bit of chaff, word for word, giving the
reader (if a telephone only connected us) the very
intonations of the interlocutors, while I can furnish
no fragment of most interesting matter, which he
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 373
would be as glad to hear as I should to recall?
"Accept a miracle in place of wit," says the most
perfect epigram in the English language. In place of
Jackson's account of the battle of New Orleans I must
ask the reader to accept a puzzle in mnemonics.
General Jackson, the unscrupulous, did have a few
scruples after all. " Constitutional scruples " was the
name he gave them, and they had something to do
with a protective tariff. Now the manufacturing
town of Lowell, or rather the wealthy men who con-
ducted it, had one ineradicable prejudice, and held
in abhorrence a certain detestable heresy known as
Free Trade. The meeting of mighty opposites is not
always so dangerous to baser natures as Hamlet con-
sidered it. On the contrary, the aforesaid opposites
will sometimes try to capture one another by elegant
blandishments, which are not without delight to the
baser natures who are looking on. Lowell did her
veiy best to captivate the President, and prepared
such a show in his honor as nobody but the Queen
of the Amazons ever saw before. Passing beneath tri-
umphal arches of evergreen, the President was sum-
moned to review an army of nice, intelligent American
young women. Some said there were three thousand,
some declared there were five thousand, of these fresh,
good-looking girls. I was much too dazed to think
of counting them. All or most of them were em-
ployed in the mills, and all wore snow-white dresses,
with sashes of bright color. Happily, too, they were
bareheaded ; for the bonnet of the period was a hid-
eous monstrosity, a proper companion for that mascu-
374 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
line section-of-stove-pipe hat, which even to this
day demonstrates the great doctrine of the survival
of the unfittest. The fair army bore parasols, instead
of muskets, and most of these were green parasols ;
but the costumers of the pageant came to the Presi-
dent lamenting that all the parasols were not green.
They had done their best, they said. Boston had
been ransacked in vain, and New York was in those
days far too distant to be drawn upon. But when
these same parasols were waved in graceful salute,
as the bearers passed before their Chief Magistrate,
Jackson's enthusiasm mounted high, and he was
pleased to say that this distressing variation in color
did not mar his satisfaction with the scene. And
well might Old Hickory be delighted with the sight
of those bright, self-respecting daughters of Ameri-
can yeomanry, who wrought so cheerfully with the
machinery of the mills. Alas ! it was a sight not
soon to be repeated among men. Not until wise
forms of co-operation shall solve the labor problem
which now perplexes the world can any successor of
Jackson be received by such operatives in a manu-
facturing town.
Lowell certainly treated our party very handsomely.
One of the mills was set going for our benefit, and we
were generously dined in the evening. Jackson was
evidently much impressed with what he had seen,
and, indeed, talked of little else till we reached the
State line, about noon the next day. He took leave
of me with hearty cordiality. " Come and see me at
the White House ; or, better still, at the Hermitage,
JACKSON IN MASSACHUSETTS. 375
if I live to return to it." I left him feeling that he
had moderated his views, and would be a wiser Pres-
ident than he had been. The astounding measure
known as the Eemoval of the Deposits soon dissi-
pated these hopeful fancies. The transference of the
national money to the " Pet Banks " produced tempo-
rary inflation, to be followed by years of utter business
stagnation. Never again could President Jackson
have been warmly welcomed to Massachusetts.
One more incident shall conclude this paper. At
the New Hampshire line I met a young gentleman,
who was acting as aid to the Governor of that State,
and had come to escort the President through his
dominions. There was time for quite a little talk
between us, and he was curious to know all the par-
ticulars of our progress through the Bay State. I
told him what I could remember, not forgetting that
very awkward ride through Salem, when I was mis-
taken for the Head of the Nation. I did not add :
" Now, if you happen to pass for the President of the
United States, there will be no embarrassment what-
ever. It will anticipate history a little ; that is all ! '
I did not say this, for who does say the right thing
just at the right moment ? I wonder what Mr.
Franklin Pierce would have thought of the remark,
had it occurred to me to make it !
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO.
TT is by no means improbable that some future
*■■ text-book, for the use of generations yet unborn,
will contain a question something like this : What
historical American of the nineteenth century has
exerted the most powerful influence upon the des-
tinies of his countrymen ? And it is by no means
impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may
be thus written : Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet.
And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to
most men now living, may be an obvious common-
place to their descendants. History deals in sur-
prises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The
man who established a religion in this age of free
debate, who was and is to-day accepted by hundreds
of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High,
— such a rare human being is not to be disposed of
by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fa-
natic, impostor, charlatan, he may have been; but
these hard names furnish no solution to the problem
he presents to us. Fanatics and impostors are living
and dying every day, and their memory is buried
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 377
with them ; but the wonderful influence which this
founder of a religion exerted and still exerts throws
him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be crimi-
nated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The
most vital questions Americans are asking each other
to-day have to do with this man and what he has
left us. Is there any remedy heroic enough to meet
the case, yet in accordance with our national doc-
trines of liberty and toleration, which can be applied
to the demoralizing doctrines now advanced by the
sect which he created ? The possibilities of the
Mormon system are unfathomable. Polygamy may
be followed by still darker u revelations." Here is a
society resting upon foundations which may at any
moment be made subversive of every duty which we
claim from the citizen. Must it be reached by that
last argument which quenched the evil fanaticisms of
Mulhausen and Minister ? A generation other than
mine must deal with these questions. Burning ques-
tions they are, which must give a prominent place
in the history of the country to that sturdy self-
asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith,
claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity
such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed
a brief season of prosperity such as few men have
ever attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I
saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr's death. When
he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order
to prevent the shedding of blood, the prophet had a
presentiment of what was before him. " I am going
like a lamb to the slaughter," he is reported to have
378 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
said ; " but I am as calm as a summer's morning. I
have a conscience void of offence and shall die inno-
cent." I have no theory to advance respecting this
extraordinary man. I shall simply give the facts of
my intercourse with him. At some future time they
may be found to have some bearing upon the theories
of others who are more competent to make them.
Ten closely written pages of my journal describe my
impressions of Nauvoo, and of its prophet, mayor,
general, and judge; but details, necessarily omitted
in the diary, went into letters addressed to friends at
home, and I shall use both these sources to make my
narrative as complete as possible. I happened to
visit Joseph Smith in company with a distinguished
gentleman, who, if rumor may be trusted, has been
as conscientious a journal- writer as was his father.
It is not impossible that my record may one day
be supplemented by that of my fellow-traveller, the
Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
It was on the 25th of April, 1844, that Mr. Adams
and myself left Boston for the journey to the West
which we had had for some time in contemplation.
I omit all account of our adventures — and a very
full account of them is before me — until the 14th
of May, when we are ascending the clear, sparkling
waters of the Upper Mississippi in the little steam-
boat " Amaranth." With one exception we find our
fellow-passengers uninteresting. The exception is
Dr. Goforth. A chivalric, yet simple personage is
this same doctor, who has served under General
Jackson at the battle of New Orleans and is now
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 379
going to Nauvoo, to promote the election of the just
nominated Henry Clay. It is to tkis gentleman we
owe our sight of the City of the Saints, which,
strangely enough, we had not intended to visit.
Though far from being a Mormon himself, Dr. Goforth
told us much that was good and interesting about
this strange people. He urged us to see for ourselves
the result of the singular political system which had
been fastened upon Christianity, and to make the
acquaintance of his friend, General Smith, the reli-
gious and civil autocrat of the community. "We
agreed to stop at Nauvoo," says my journal, "pro-
vided some conveyance should be found at the land-
ing which would take us up to General Smith's tavern,
and prepared our baggage for this contingency. Owing
to various delays, we did not reach the landing till
nearly midnight, when our friend, who had jumped
on shore the moment the boat stopped, returned with
the intelligence that no carriage was to be had, and
so we bade him adieu, to go on our way. But, as we
still lingered upon the hurricane deck, he shouted
that there was a house on the landing, where we
could get a good bed. This changed our destiny, and
just at the last moment we hurried on shore. Here
we found that the ' good bed ' our friend had prom-
ised us was in an old mill, which had been converted
into an Irish shanty. However, we made the best of
it, and, having dispossessed a cat and a small army
of cockroaches of their quarters on the coverlet,
we lay down in our dressing-gowns and were soon
asleep."
380 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
We left our lowly bed in the gray light of the
morning, to find the rain descending in torrents and
the roads knee-deep in mud. Intelligence of our
arrival had in some mysterious manner reached Gen-
eral Smith, and the prophet's own chariot, a comfort-
able carryall, drawn by two horses, soon made its
appearance. It is probable that we owed the alacrity
with which we were served to an odd blunder which
had combined our names and personalities and set
forth that no less a man than ex-President John
Quincy Adams had arrived to visit Mr. Joseph Smith.
Happily, however, Dr. Goforth, who had got upon the
road before us, divided our persons and reduced them
to their proper proportions, so that no trace of disap-
pointment was visible in the group of rough-looking
Mormons who awaited our descent at the door of the
tavern. It was a three-story frame house, set back
from the street and surrounded by a white fence, that
we had reached after about two miles of the muddiest
driving. Pre-eminent among the stragglers by the
door stood a man of commanding appearance, clad in
the costume of a journeyman carpenter when about
his work. He was a hearty, athletic fellow, with
blue eyes standing prominently out upon his light
complexion, a long nose, and a retreating forehead.
He wore striped pantaloons, a linen jacket, which
had not lately seen the washtub, and a beard of
some three days' growth. This was the founder of
the religion which had been preached in every quar-
ter of the earth. As Dr. Goforth introduced us to
the prophet, he mentioned the parentage of my com-
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 381
panion. " God bless you, to begin with ! " said Joseph
Smith, raising his hands in the air and letting them
descend upon the shoulders of Mr. Adams. The
benediction, though evidently sincere, had an odd
savor of what may be called official familiarity, such
as a crowned head might adopt on receiving the heir
presumptive of a friendly court. The greeting to me
was cordial — with that sort of cordiality with which
the president of a college might welcome a deserving
janitor — and a blessing formed no part of it. "And
now come, both of you, into the house ! " said our
host, as, suiting the action to the word, he ushered
us across the threshold of his tavern.
A fine-looking man is what the passer-by would
instinctively have murmured upon meeting the re-
markable individual who had fashioned the mould
which was to shape the feelings of so many thousands
of his fellow-mortals. But Smith was more than
this, and one could not resist the impression that
capacity and resource were natural to his stalwart
person. I have already mentioned the resemblance
he bore to Elisha E. Potter, of Rhode Island, whom
I met in Washington in 1826. The likeness was
not such as would be recognized in a picture, but
rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency.
Of all men I have met, these two seemed best en-
dowed with that kingly faculty which directs, as by
intrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are
looking for guidance. This it is just to say with
emphasis; for the reader will find so much that is
puerile and even shocking in my report of the
382 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
prophet's conversation that he might never suspect
the impression of rugged power that was given by
the man.
On the right hand, as we entered the house, was a
small and very comfortless-looking bar-room ; all the
more comfortless, perchance, from its being a dry
bar-room, as no spirituous liquors were permitted at
Nauvoo. In apparent search for more private quar-
ters, the prophet opened the door of a room on the
left. He instantly shut it again, but not before I
perceived that the obstacle to our entrance was its
prior occupancy by a woman, in bed. He then ran
up-stairs, calling upon us to follow him, and, throw-
ing open a door in the second story, disclosed three
Mormons in three beds. This was not satisfactory ;
neither was the next chamber, which was found, on
inspection, to contain two sleeping disciples. The
third attempt was somewhat more fortunate, for we
had found a room which held but a single bed and a
single sleeper. Into this apartment we were invited
to enter. Our host immediately proceeded to the
bed, and drew the clothes well over the head of its
occupant. He then called a man to make a fire, and
begged us to sit down. Smith then began to talk
about himself and his people, as, of course, we en-
couraged him to do. He addressed his words to
Mr. Adams oftener than to me, evidently thinking
that this gentleman had or was likely to have polit-
ical influence, which it was desirable to conciliate.
Whether by subtle tact or happy accident, he intro-
duced us to Mormonism as a secular institution
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 383
before stating its monstrous claims as a religious sys-
tem. Polygamy, it must be remembered, formed no
part of the alleged revelations upon which the social
life at Nauvoo was based ; indeed, the recorded pre-
cepts of its prophet were utterly opposed to such a
practice, and it is, at least, doubtful whether this
barbarism was in any way sanctioned by Smith. Let
a man who has so much to answer for be allowed the
lull benefit of the doubt ; and Mormonism, minus the
spiritual wife system, had, as it has to-day, much that
was interesting in its secular aspects. Its founder
told us what he had accomplished and the terrible
persecutions through which he had brought his peo-
ple. He spoke with bitterness of outrages to which
they had been subjected in Missouri, and implied
that the wanton barbarities of his lawless enemies
must one day be atoned for. He spoke of the indus-
trial results of his autocracy in the holy city we were
visiting, and of the extraordinary powers of its charter,
obtained through his friend, Governor Ford. The
past had shown him that a military organization was
necessary. He was now at the head of three thou-
sand men, equipped by the State of Illinois and be-
longing to its militia, and the Saints were prepared
to fight as well as to work. " I decided," said Smith,
"that the commander of my troops ought to be a
lieutenant-general, and I was, of course, chosen to
that position. I sent my certificate of election to
Governor Ford, and received in return a commission
of lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion and of
the militia of the State of Illinois. Now, on exam-
384 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ining the Constitution of the United States, I find
that an o nicer must be tried by a court-martial com-
posed of his equals in rank; and as I am the only
lieutenant-general in the country, I think they will
find it pretty hard to try me."
At this point breakfast was announced, and a sub-
stantial meal was served in a long back kitchen. We
sat down with about thirty persons, some of them
being in their shirt-sleeves, as if just come from work.
There was no going out, as the rain still fell in tor-
rents ; and so, when we had finished breakfast, the
prophet (who had exchanged his working dress for a
broadcloth suit while we lingered at the table) pro-
posed to return to the chamber we had quitted,
where he would give us his views of theology. The
bed had been made during our absence and the fire
plentifully replenished. Our party was now in-
creased by the presence of the patriarch, Hiram
Smith ; Dr. Richards, of Philadelphia, who seemed
to be a very modest and respectable Mormon ; Dr.
Goforth ; and a Methodist minister, whose name I
have not preserved. No sooner were we seated than
there entered some half-dozen leaders of the sect,
among whom, I think, were Rigdon and Young ; but
of their presence I cannot be positive. These men
constituted a sort of silent chorus during the expo-
sitions of their chief. They fixed a searching, yet
furtive gaze upon Mr. Adams and myself, as if
eager to discover how we were impressed by what
we heard. Of the wild talk that we listened to I
have preserved but a few fragments. Smith was
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 385
well versed in the letter of the Scriptures, though he
had little comprehension of their spirit. He began
by denying the doctrine of the Trinity, and sup-
ported his views by the glib recitation of a num-
ber of texts. From this he passed to his own
claims to special inspiration, quoting with great
emphasis the eleventh and twelfth verses of the
fourth chapter of Ephesians, which, in his eyes,
adumbrated the whole Mormon hierarchy. The de-
grees and orders of ecclesiastical dignitaries he set
forth with great precision, being careful to mention
the interesting revelation which placed Joseph Smith
supreme above them all. This information was
plentifully besprinkled with cant phrases or homely
proverbs. " There, I have proved that point as
straight as a loon's leg." " The curses of my enemies
run off from me like water from a duck's back."
Such are the specimens which my journal happens
to preserve, but the exposition was constantly gar-
nished with forcible vulgarisms of a similar sort.
The prophet referred to his miraculous gift of under-
standing all languages, and took down a Bible in
various tongues, for the purpose of exhibiting his
accomplishments in this particular. Our position
as guests prevented our testing his powers by a
rigid examination, and the rendering of a few familiar
texts seemed to be accepted by his followers as a
triumphant demonstration of his abilities. It may
have been an accident, but I observed that the bulk
of his translations were from the Hebrew, which,
presumably, his visitors did not understand, rather
25
386 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
than from the classical languages, in which they
might more easily have caught him tripping.
" And now come with me," said the prophet, " and
I will show you the curiosities." So saying, he led
the way to a lower room, where sat a venerable
and respectable-looking lady. " This is my mother,
gentlemen. The curiosities we shall see belong to
her. They were purchased with her own money, at
a cost of six thousand dollars ; " and then, with deep
feeling, were added the words, "And that woman was
turned out upon the prairie in the dead of night by
a mob." There were some pine presses fixed against
the wall of the room. These receptacles Smith
opened, and disclosed four human bodies, shrunken
and black with age. w These are mummies," said the
exhibitor. " I want you to look at that little runt
of a fellow over there. He was a great man in his
day. Why, that was Pharaoh Necho, King of
Egypt ! " Some parchments inscribed with hiero-
glyphics were then offered us. They were preserved
under glass and handled with great respect. " That
is the handwriting of Abraham, the Father of the
Faithful," said the prophet. " This is the autograph
of Moses, and these lines were written by his brother
Aaron. Here we have the earliest account of the
Creation, from which Moses composed the First
Book of Genesis." The parchment last referred to
showed a rude drawing of a man and woman, and
a serpent walking upon a pair of legs. I ventured
to doubt the propriety of providing the reptile in
question with this unusual means of locomotion.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 387
" Why, that 's as plain as a pikestaff," was the re-
joinder. "Before the Fall snakes always went
about on legs, just like chickens. They were de-
prived of them, in punishment for their agency in
the ruin of man." We were further assured that the
prophet was the only mortal who could translate
these mysterious writings, and that his power was
given by direct inspiration.
It is well known that Joseph Smith was accus-
tomed to make his revelations point to those sturdy
business habits which lead to prosperity in this
present life. He had little enough of that unmixed
spiritual power which flashed out from the spare,
neurasthenic body of Andrew Jackson. The proph-
et's hold upon you seemed to come from the bal-
ance and harmony of temperament which reposes
upon a large physical basis. No association with
the sacred phrases of Scripture could keep the in-
spirations of this man from getting down upon the
hard pan of practical affairs. " Verily I say unto
you, let my servant, Sidney Gilbert, plant himself
in this place and establish a store." So had run one
of his revelations, in which no holier spirit than that
of commerce is discernible. The exhibition of these
august relics concluded with a similar descent into
the hard modern world of fact. Monarchs, patriarchs,
and parchments were very well in their way ; but
this was clearly the nineteenth century, when proph-
ets must get a living and provide for their rela-
tions. " Gentlemen'' said this bourgeois Mohammed,
as he closed the cabinets, M those who see these curiosi-
ties generally pay my mother a quarter of a dollar!'
388 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
II.
The clouds had parted when we emerged from
the chamber of curiosities, and there was time to see
the Temple before dinner. General Smith ordered a
capacious carriage, and we drove to that beautiful
eminence, bounded on three sides by the Mississippi,
which was covered by the holy city of Nauvoo. The
curve in the river enclosed a position lovely enough
to furnish a site for the Utopian communities of
Plato or Sir Thomas More ; and here was an orderly
city, magnificently laid out, and teeming with activity
and enterprise. And all the diligent workers, who
had reared these handsome stores and comfortable
dwellings, bowed in subjection to the man to whose
unexampled absurdities we had listened that morn-
ing. Not quite unexampled either. For many years
I held a trusteeship which required me to be a fre-
quent visitor at the McLean Asylum for the Insane.
I had talked with some of its unhappy inmates, vic-
tims of the sad but not uncommon delusion that each
had received the appointment [of vicegerent of the
Deity upon earth. It is well known that such unfor-
tunates, if asked to explain their confinement, have a
ready reply : " I am sane. The rest of the world is mad,
and the majority is against me." It was like a dream
to find one's self moving through a prosperous commu-
nity, where the repulsive claim of one of these pre-
tenders was respectfully acknowledged. It was said
that Prince Hamlet had no need to recover his wits
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 389
when he was despatched to England, for the de-
mented denizens of that island would never detect
his infirmity. If the blasphemous assumptions of
Smith seemed like the ravings of a lunatic, he had,
at least, brought them to a market where " all the
people were as mad as he." Near the entrance to
the Temple we passed a workman who was laboring
upon a huge sun, which he had chiselled from the
solid rock. The countenance was of the negro type,
and it was surrounded by the conventional rays.
" General Smith," said the man, looking up from
his task, * is this like the face you saw in vision ? "
" Very near it," answered the prophet, " except "
(this was added with an air of careful connoisseurship
that was quite overpowering) — " except that the
nose is just a thought too broad."
The Mormon Temple was not fully completed. It
was a wonderful structure, altogether indescribable by
me. Being, presumably, like something Smith had
seen in vision, it certainly cannot be compared to any
ecclesiastical building which may be discerned by
the natural eyesight. It was built of limestone, and
was partially supported by huge monolithic pillars,
each costing, said the prophet, three thousand dollars.
Then in the basement was the baptistery, which cen-
tred in a mighty tank, surrounded by twelve wooden
oxen of colossal size. These animals, we were as-
sured, were temporary. They were to be replaced by
stone oxen as fast as they could be made. The Tem-
ple, odd and striking as it was, produced no effect that
was commensurate with its cost. Perhaps it would
390 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
have required a genius to have designed anything
worthy of that noble site. The city of Nauvoo, with
its wide streets sloping gracefully to the farms en-
closed on the prairie, seemed to be a better temple to
Him who prospers the work of industrious hands
than the grotesque structure on the hill, with all its
queer carvings of moons and suns. This, however,
was by no means the opinion of the man whose fiat
had reared the building. In a tone half-way between
jest and earnest, and which might have been taken for
either at the option of the hearer, the prophet put this
inquiry : " Is not here one greater than Solomon, who
built a Temple with the treasures of his father David
and with the assistance of Huram, King of Tyre ?
Joseph Smith has built his Temple with no one to
aid him in the work."
On returning to the tavern, dinner was served in
the kitchen where we had breakfasted. The prophet
carved at one end of the board, while some twenty
persons, Mormons or travellers (the former mostly
coatless), were scattered along its sides. At the close
of a substantial meal a message was brought to the
effect that the United States marshal had arrived
and wished to speak to Mr. Adams. This officer,
as it turned out, wanted my companion's advice
about the capture of some criminal, for whom he had
a warrant. The matter was one of some difficulty,
for, the prophet being absolute in Nauvoo, no man
could be arrested or held without his permission. I
do not remember what was the outcome of this in-
terview, which was so protracted that it caused Mr.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 391
Adams to miss one of the most notable exhibitions
of the day.
" General Smith/' said Dr. Goforth, when we had
adjourned to the green in front of the tavern, " I
think Mr. Quincy would like to hear you preach."
u Then I shall be happy to do so," was the obliging
reply ; and, mounting the broad step which led from
the house, the prophet promptly addressed a sermon
to the little group about him. Our numbers were
constantly increased from the passers in the street,
and a most attentive audience of more than a hun-
dred persons soon hung upon every word of the
speaker. The text was Mark xvi. 15, and the com-
ments, though rambling and disconnected, were deliv-
ered with the fluency and fervor of a camp-meeting
orator. The discourse was interrupted several times
by the Methodist minister before referred to, who
thought it incumbent upon him to question the
soundness of certain theological positions maintained
by the speaker. One specimen of the sparring which
ensued I thought worth setting down. The prophet
is asserting that baptism for the remission of sins is
essential for salvation. Minister. Stop ! What do
you say to the case of the penitent thief ? Prophet.
What do you mean by that ? Minister. You know our
Saviour said to the thief, " This day shalt thou be
with me in Paradise," which shows he could not have
been baptized before his admission. Prophet. How
do you know he was n't baptized before he became a
thief ? At this retort the sort of laugh that is pro-
voked by an unexpected hit ran through the audience ;
392 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
but this demonstration of sympathy was rebuked by
a severe look from Smith, who went on to say : " But
that is not the true answer. In the original Greek,
as this gentleman [turning to me] will inform you,
the word that has been translated paradise means
simply a place of departed spirits. To that place
the penitent thief was conveyed, and there, doubtless,
he received the baptism necessary for his admission
to the heavenly kingdom." The other objections of
his antagonist were parried with a similar adroitness,
and in about fifteen minutes the prophet concluded a
sermon which it was evident that his disciples had
heard with the heartiest satisfaction.
In the afternoon we drove to visit the farms upon
the prairie which this enterprising people had enclosed
and were cultivating with every appearance of suc-
cess. On returning, we stopped in a beautiful grove,
where there were seats and a platform for speaking.
" When the weather permits," said Smith, " we hold
our services in this place ; but shall cease to do so
when the Temple is finished." " I suppose none but
Mormon preachers are allowed in Nauvoo," said the
Methodist minister, who had accompanied our expe-
dition. " On the contrary," replied the prophet, " I
shall be very happy to have you address my people
next Sunday, and I will insure you a most attentive
congregation." "What! do you mean that I may
say anything I please and that you will make no
reply ? " " You may certainly say anything you
please ; but I must reserve the right of adding a word
or two, if I judge best. I promise to speak of you in
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 393
the most respectful manner." As we rode back, there
was more dispute between the minister and Smith.
" Come/' said the latter, suddenly slapping his antag-
onist on the knee, to emphasize the production of a
triumphant text, " if you can't argue better than that,
you shall say all you want to say to my people, and
I will promise to hold my tongue, for there 's not a
Mormon among them who would need my assistance
to answer you." Some back-thrust was evidently re-
quired to pay for this ; and the minister, soon after,
having occasion to allude to some erroneous doctrine
which I forget, suddenly exclaimed, "Why, I told
my congregation the other Sunday that they might
as well believe Joe Smith as such theology as that."
" Did you say Joe Smith in a sermon ? " inquired the
person to whom the title had been applied. " Of
course I did. Why not ?" The prophet's reply was
given with a quiet superiority that was overwhelming :
" Considering only the day and the place, it would
have been more respectful to have said Lieutenant-
General Joseph Smith." Clearly, the worthy minister
was no match for the head of the Mormon church.
I have before me some relics of my visit to Nauvoo.
Here is the Book of Mormon, bearing the autograph
which its alleged discoverer and translator wrote, at
my request ; and here are some letters addressed to
the same personage, which I came by strangely
enough. I took them from a public basket of waste-
paper, which was placed for the service of the
inmates of the tavern. Three of these abandoned
epistles I asked leave to keep as memorials of my
394 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
visit, and no objection was made to my doing so. The
most interesting of these letters is dated " Manchester,
August 29, 1842," and comes from an English convert
to Mormonism. The man writes four pages of gilt-
edged paper to his " beloved brother in the Lord," and
sends him by the favor of Elder Snider the follow-
ing presents : " A hat, a black satin stock with front,
and a brooch." He would fain join the prophet in
Nauvoo ; but the way is blocked by that not-unheard-
of obstacle, a mother-in-law, and until this excellent
lady " falls asleep " the disciple must deny his eyes
the sight of the master's face. The account of him-
self given by this correspondent shows with what
pathetic sincerity the divine commission of Smith
was accepted by a class of men which would seem to
be intellectually superior to so miserable a delusion.
Suppressing the name of the writer, I shall give a
portion of this letter, as it furnishes food for reflection,
and shows that the secret of the Mormon prophet is
not to be fathomed at a glance : —
" I take the liberty of writing a few lines, being
assured that you are a man of God and a prophet of
the Most High, not only from testimony given by the
brethren, but the Spirit itself beareth witness. It is
true that mine eyes have not seen and mine ears
heard you ; but the testimony I have received shows
plainly that God does reveal by his Spirit things that
the natural man has not seen by his natural eyes.
You may perhaps wonder who the individual is that
has written this letter. I will tell you, in a few
words : My father died about twenty-four years since,
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 395
leaving my mother a widow with seven children. . . .
I remember her teachings well, which were these :
Fear God, be strictly honest, and speak the truth. I
remember, when about three or four years old, being
with her in a shop. I saw a pin on the floor. I
picked it up and gave it to her. She told me to
give it to the shopman, with a sharp reprimand, show-
ing me that it was a sin to take even a pin. The
remembrance of this slight circumstance has followed
me from that time to the present. [An account of
the writer's conversion to Mormonism follows, after
which he goes on thus.] Previously to joining this
Church, I was a singer in the Church of England,
had eight pounds a year, and a good situation in the
week-time at a retail hat shop. My wife's brother
told me I was robbing my children of their bread in
giving up the eight pounds. I told him I was not
dependent on that for bread, and said unto him the
Lord could make up the difference. He laughed at
me ; but, beloved brother, in about one month from
the time I left the Church of England my master
raised my wages four shillings a week (which was
about one shilling per week more than that just sac-
rificed), and this has continued on ever since, which
is now two years this month, for which I thank the
Lord, together with many other mercies."
I have quoted enough to show what really good
material Smith managed to draw into his net. Were
such fish to be caught with Spaulding's tedious ro-
mance and a puerile fable of undecipherable gold
plates and gigantic spectacles ? Not these cheap and
396 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
wretched properties, but some mastering force of the
man who handled them, inspired the devoted mis-
sionaries who worked such wonders. The remaining
letters, both written a year previous to my visit,
came from a certain Chicago attorney, who seems to
have been the personal friend as well as the legal
adviser of the prophet. With the legal advice come
warnings of plots which enemies are preparing, and
of the probability that a seizure of his person by secret
ambush is contemplated. " They hate you," writes
this friendly lawyer, " because they have done evil
unto you. . . . My advice to you is not to sleep in
your own house, but to have some place to sleep
strongly guarded by your own friends, so that you
can resist any sudden attempt that might be made
to kidnap you in the night. When the Missourians
come on this side and burn houses, depend upon it
they will not hesitate to make the attempt to carry
you away by force. Let me again caution you to be
every moment upon your guard." The man to whom
this letter was addressed had long been familiar with
perils. For fourteen years he was surrounded by
vindictive enemies, who lost no opportunity to harass
him. He was in danger even when we saw him at
the summit of his prosperity, and he was soon to seal
his testimony — or, if you will, to expiate his impos-
ture — by death at the hands of dastardly assassins.
If these letters go little way toward interpreting the
man, they suggest that any hasty interpretation of him
is inadequate.
I should not say quite all that struck me about
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 397
Smith if I did not mention that he seemed to have a
keen sense of the humorous aspects of his position.
" It seems to me, General," I said, as he was driving
us to the river, about sunset, " that you have too much
power to be safely trusted to one man." " In your
hands or that of any other person," was the reply,
" so much power would, no doubt, be dangerous. I
am the only man in the world whom it would be
safe to trust with it. Kemember, I am a prophet ! "
The last five words were spoken in a rich, comical
aside, as if in hearty recognition of the ridiculous
sound they might have in the ears of a Gentile. I
asked him to test his powers by naming the success-
ful candidate in the approaching presidential election.
" Well, I will prophesy that John Tyler will not be
the next President, for some things are possible
and some things are probable ; but Tyler's election
is neither the one nor the other." We then went
on to talk of politics. Smith recognized the curse
and iniquity of slavery, though he opposed the
methods of the Abolitionists. His plan was for
the nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the
public lands. " Congress," he said, " should be com-
pelled to take this course, by petitions from all
parts of the country ; but the petitioners must dis-
claim all alliance with those who would disturb
the rights of property recognized by the Constitution
and foment insurrection." It may be worth while to
remark that Smith's plan was publicly advocated,
eleven years later, by one who has mixed so much
practical shrewdness with his lofty philosophy. In
398 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
1855, when men's minds had been moved to their
depths on the question of slavery, Mr. Ealph Waldo
Emerson declared that it should be met in accordance
" with the interest of the South and with the settled
conscience of the North. It is not really a great
task, a great fight for this country to accomplish, to
buy that property of the planter, as the British na-
tion bought the West Indian slaves." He further
says that the " United States will be brought to give
every inch of their public lands for a purpose like
this." We, who can look back upon the terrible
cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to
slavery, now say that such a solution of the difficulty
would have been worthy a Christian statesman.
But if the retired scholar was in advance of his
time when he advocated this disposition of the public
property in 1855, what shall I say of the political
and religious leader who had committed himself, in
print, as well as in conversation, to the same course
in 1844 ? If the atmosphere of men's opinions was
stirred by such a proposition when war-clouds were
discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike
word eleven years earlier, when the heavens looked
tranquil and beneficent ?
General Smith proceeded to unfold still further his
views upon politics. He denounced the Missouri
Compromise as an unjustifiable concession for the
benefit of slavery. It was Henry Clay's bid for the
presidency. Dr. Goforth might have spared himself
the trouble of coming to Nauvoo to electioneer for
a duellist who would fire at John Randolph, but was
JOSEPH SMITH AT NATJVOO. 399
not brave enough to protect the Saints in their rights
as American citizens. Clay had told his people to
go to the wilds of Oregon and set up a government
of their own. Oh yes, the Saints might go into the
wilderness and obtain justice of the Indians, which
imbecile, time-serving politicians would not give
them in the land of freedom and equality. The
prophet then talked of the details of government.
He thought that the number of members admitted
to the Lower House of the National Legislature
should be reduced. A crowd only darkened counsel
and impeded business. A member to every half
million of population would be ample. The powers
of the President should be increased. He should
have authority to put down rebellion in a state, with-
out waiting for the request of any governor ; for it
might happen that the governor himself would be
the leader of the rebels. It is needless to remark
how later events showed the executive weakness
that Smith pointed out, — a weakness which cost
thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure ;
but the man mingled Utopian fallacies with his
shrewd suggestions. He talked as from a strong
mind utterly unenlightened by the teachings of his-
tory. Finally, he told us what he would do, were
he President of the United States, and went on to
mention that he might one day so hold the balance
between parties as to render his election to that
office by no means unlikely.
Who can wonder that the chair of the National
Executive had its place among the visions of this
400 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
self-reliant man ? He had already traversed the
roughest part of the way to that coveted position.
Born in the lowest ranks of poverty, without book-
learning and with the homeliest of all human names,
he had made himself at the age of thirty-nine a
power upon earth. Of the multitudinous family of
Smith, from Adam down (Adam of the " Wealth of
Nations/' I mean), none had so won human hearts
and shaped human lives as this Joseph. His in-
fluence, whether for good or for evil, is potent to-day,
and the end is not yet.
I have endeavored to give the details of my visit
to the Mormon prophet with absolute accuracy. If
the reader does not know just what to make of
Joseph Smith, I cannot help him out of the difficulty.
I myself stand helpless before the puzzle.
INDEX OF NAMES.
A.
Adams, Alvin, 346.
Adams, Charles F., 378, 390.
Adams, George, 21.
Adams, Hannah, 328-333.
Adams, John, 58-95, passim.
Adams, Mrs. John, 61.
Adams, John Q., 42, 72, 76, 260,
290, 361.
Amory, Rums Greene, 259.
Anderson, Larz, 260, 261, 262.
Archer, William S., 287, 288.
B.
Barnard, Hezekiah, 183.
Barnwell, R. W., 16, 18, 50.
Belmont, August, 171.
Binney, John, 203.
Black, Mrs., 77.
Blake, George, 178.
Bollman, Eric, 120.
Bonaparte, Lucien, 299.
Bowdltch, Nathaniel, 106.
Bray, comic actor, 29.
Brimmer, Martin, 291.
Bryant, Lemuel, 94.
Buchanan, James, 206.
Bullett, Miss, 260, 301.
Burnell, Barker, 180, 184.
Byles, Mather, 71.
C.
Calhoun, J. C, 263, 264.
Calhoun, Miss, 264.
Carroll, Charles, 294, 295.
Charming, W. E„ 303, 307-311.
Cheverus, Cardinal, 311, 313.
Claflin, Thomas J., 356.
Clapham, Miss, 297.
Clay, Henry, 215, 216, 398, 399.
Cleaves, The Misses, 197.
Coffin, Micajah, 184-187.
Colt, Judge, 338.
Cooper, Samuel, 169.
Cooper, Thomas Apthorpe, 200.
Craigie, Andrew, 25-27, passim.
Cranch, William, 73.
Cushing, Caleb, 52.
D.
De Britto, Captain, 247.
Degrand, P. P. F., 350.
Derby, R. C, 142.
Dickinson, John, 78, 79.
Dickinson, Miss Julia, 336.
Dimmock, W. R., 95.
26
402
INDEX OF NAMES.
Dorr, Jonathan, 355.
"Downing, Jack," 359.
Dummer, Mrs. A. C, 197.
E.
Eliot, W. H., 112.
Emerson, R. W., 16-18, 50, 398.
Emmett, Thomas Addis, 250, 251.
Everett, Edward, 23, 107-109,
164, 166, 167.
Everett, William, 95.
F.
Farrer, John, 23.
Finn, Henry J., 145.
Folger, William C, 185.
Ford, Governor, 383.
G.
Gaillard, John, 216, 217.
Gallatin, Albert, 260.
Garcia, 301.
Gardiner, J. S. J., 313-315.
Gilbert, Sidney, 387.
Gillespie, Miss Anna, 201.
Goforth, Dr., 379, 391.
H.
Hall, David P., 97.
Hamilton, Alexander, 81.
Hancock, John, 94.
Harnden, William F., 344, 345.
Hayne, Robert Young, 226.
Hedge, MissAbby, 176.
Helen, Miss Mary, 68, 284.
Helps, Arthur, 367.
Henry, Patrick, 66.
Henry, Mrs., 145.
Henry, Miss, 145.
Hill, Aaron, 185, 186.
Hillhouse, James A., 141.
Hoffman, Mrs. David, 268.
Holley, Mrs. Hamilton, 201.
Huger, Francis K., 113-126, pas-
sim.
Hughes, Christopher, 299.
Hull, Isaac, 360.
I.
Incledon, 28.
J.
Jacksou, Andrew, 352-375, pas-
sim.
Jay, John, 81.
Jefferson, Joseph, 204.
Jefferson, Thomas, 242.
Johnson, Miss, 297.
Johnston, Josiah Stoddard, 220.
K.
Kean, Edmund, 30.
Kent, Edward, 19.
King, Charles, 260.
Kirkland, John Thornton, 21.
Knapp, John, 192, 193.
L.
Lafayette, Gen. G. M., 55-57,
101-156, passim.
Lafayette, G. W., 111.
Lincoln, Levi, 127, 128, 174-187,
passim.
Livingston, Miss Cora, 269-273.
M.
Macduffie, George, 283-285.
Maffitt, J. N., 305, 306.
Marshall, Miss Emily, 334-337.
Marshall, Judge, 242-244.
INDEX OF NAMES.
403
Mason, John Y., 155.
McCobb, Mr., 182.
Mitchell, Aaron, 182.
Mitchell, S. L., 140.
Moniac, 92.
N.
Norton, Rev. Mr., 304.
O.
Oliver, Robert, 293.
Otis, George, 42.
Otis, H. G., 47, 316-321.
P.
Palfrey, J. G., 110.
Parker, Daniel P., 363.
Percival, J. G., 335.
Person, William, 3-5.
Peter, Mrs., 275, 276.
Peters, Judge, 325, 326.
Phillips, Judge, 2.
Phillips, Wendell, 366.
Pickering, Timothy, 324-327.
Pierce, Franklin, 375.
Popkin, John S., 33, 34.
Potter, Elisha R., 276, 279, 381
Powell, Mrs., 145.
Prescott, James, 46.
Purdy, Mr., 97, 98.
Putnam, Colonel, 142.
Q.
Quincy, Judge Edmund, 81.
Quincy, Josiah, [H. U. 1728], 82.
Quincy. Josiah [H.U. 1790], 245,
361, 363.
R.
Randolph, John, 98-100, 209-
229.
Randolph, Tudor, 210.
Reed, James, 24.
Reed, William G., 4, 5.
Richards, Dr., 384.
Ryk, Admiral, 157-173, passim.
S.
Saxe- Weimar, Duke of, 157-173,
passim.
Sergeant, John, 203.
Smith, B., 93.
Smith, Hiram, 384.
Smith, Joseph, 376-400.
Snider, Elder, 394.
Stetson, Caleb, 44.
Stockton, Robert F., 230-239.
Storer, Ebenezer, 64.
Storer, Mrs., 53, 64, 65.
Storrs, Henry R., 286, 287.
Story, Joseph, 188-206, 366.
Stuarty General, 293.
Stuart/ Gilbert, 82-85.
Sullivan, William, 322, 323.
T.
Thaxter, Joseph, 132.
Thorndike, Colonel, 139.
Tichenor, Governor, 70.
Ticknor, George, 22, 116, 117.
Troup, Governor, 208.
Tyler, John, 397.
u.
Upham, Charles W, 16, 293.
V.
Van Buren, Martin, 353, 357,
358, 371.
Van Rensselaer, Catherine, Miss,
270.
VanTromp,107, 159.
404
INDEX OF NAMES.
w.
Wadsworth, Daniel, 134.
Wallenstein, 117.
Walsh, Robert, 300.
Ware, Henry, 107, 159.
Warren, Charles H., 176.
Warren, J. C, 359.
Washington, Bushrod, 244, 245.
Webster, Daniel, 46-48, ft 32, 136-
139, 249, 250, 254-259, 265,
266, 267, 281, 282.
Wells, E. M. P., 5, 6.
Wheaton, Henry, 203
White, Mrs. J. M., 268.
Whitney, George, 69.
Whitney, Peter, 61.
Williamson, Mrs., 145.
Wirt, Mrs. William, 268.
Wirt, Miss, 268.
Withington, William, 54 e
Worth, William J., 69.
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